HOLIDAY WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE

The following are the general guidelines for the APWA High Desert Branch White Elephant Gift Exchange planned for the Year-end Holiday Meeting:

• Everybody that wants to participate in the gift exchange must bring a wrapped "gift".
• The gift may be purchased (suggested maximum of $15) or the gift may be anything that the "giver" wishes to bring (please be sure that the gift is wrapped).
• The wrapped "gifts" will be placed on a table when each person comes in and that person will be given half of a numbered ticket.
• At the beginning of the exchange, the Emcee will draw the "other half" of the numbered ticket to start the exchange.
• Whoever has the ticket number will start by selecting one of the wrapped gifts (not their own), opening the gift and showing it to the group.
• The Emcee will draw another ticket and that person can either take a new wrapped gift from the table or take any one of the previously selected gifts. Selection of one of the previously selected gifts can only occur once (not the three times that has been done in previous years). Each gift is eligible for the final auction.
• This process is continued until all of the gifts from the table have been selected and unwrapped. The number of people that bring gifts should equal the number of gifts selected.
• After all gifts have been selected, unwrapped and shown to the group, the Emcee will auction off five (5) separate tickets (not 10 as in previous years). Each ticket will have a number printed on the back (from 1 thru 5). No one will know what ticket number is being auctioned off as the individual auction occurs. The successful high bidder for the each ticket will draw a ticket from a container holding the five specially numbered tickets. Each successful bidder can look at the ticket that he/she has bid on; however, they should not tell the rest of the group what their number is until all five (5) of the tickets have been auctioned off.
• The person drawing special ticket numbered "1" will be able to "trade" the gift that he/she ended up with for any other gift. Whichever gift this person selects is then taken out of contention for any of the other 4 successful bidders.
• The holder of ticket numbered "2" may then "trade" his/her gift for any other of the remaining gifts (excluding special ticket holder number 1’s selected gift).
• The holder of ticket numbered "3" then "trades" his/her gift for any of the remaining gifts (excluding gifts chosen by holders of special ticket "1" and "2."
• This process continues until all five special ticket holders have made their "trades". This will end the "gift" exchange.

 Note: After the gifts have been "traded", there will be "door prize" drawings for the centerpieces and for the special gifts provided by the High Desert Branch of APWA.

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