36 | DECEMBER 19 • 2019

more than three times.
Vicki Salinger of Southfield
said one year her Ameinu
group did a variation on the
traditional game by having
everyone choose a gift without
unwrapping it. Participants
sat in a circle and listened to
a story laden with the words
“right” and “left,
” passing their
gift to the right or the left each
time. At the end of the story,
everyone kept the gift in hand.
Marie Slotnick’
s most vivid
white elephant memory is
the one that got away at Beth
Shalom Sisterhood’
s Chanukah
party. Someone else received
a chain necklace with a white
elephant pendant. “I kept try-
ing to trade for it so that when
someone asked me about it I
could say, ‘
I got it at a white ele-
phant exchange,
’
” said Slotnick

of Pleasant Ridge. “Boo hiss —
it did not end up with me.
”
Some hosts, aware not all
gifts will be equally great, ask
everyone to vote at the end of
the exchange for the worst gift
of the day. The “winner” gets a
nice gift provided by the host.
If you’
re stumped about what
to bring, perennial favorites
include nice picture frames
and fancy edibles or potables.
“Good gifts involve liquor, wine
or chocolate,
” said Sandy Gross
of Oak Park.
And the most important
advice? Be a good sport and
remember it’
s all in fun. If the
gift you like gets stolen or you
pick a dog of a gift that no one
wants to steal, just laugh about
it. You can always put it away
for next year’
s white elephant
gift exchange.

Etiquette Guidelines
Respect the request to bring a gift of a certain value. Mandy Garver of
Bloomfield Township remembers an organization’
s white elephant gift
exchange where one person received a couple of packages of fancy
paper napkins. “They were nice napkins, but everyone was pretty
shocked to see such a cheesy gift,” she said.
• It’
s OK to “regift” by giving something you received that you
can’
t use, but make sure it is “like new.” Something obviously
used is a no-no.
• Avoid anything political, sexual or religious (unless you’
re in a
group affiliated with a synagogue).
• Wrap your gift beautifully.
• Be sure to follow the rules of the game. Some hosts might spec-
ify all gifts should be gag gifts. If so, don’
t bring something really
nice.
• Don’
t bring items of clothing in a particular size or that won’
t be
of use to both men and women, unless it’
s a single-sex gather-
ing.
• Don’
t bring something with a promotional logo or advertising
message.
• Be aware of changing trends. Ten or 15 years ago, a set of
beautiful notecards would generally have been welcomed. These
days, few people use them.

We’
r
e
seeki
ng
pr
esent
er
s!

What

can
you
shar
e?

We’
r
e
cur
r
ent
l
y
r
ecr
ui
t
i
ng

a
di
ver
se
gr
oup
of

pr
esent
er
s


of

var
yi
ng
backgr
ounds
and
exper
t
i
se.



Submi
t

your

pr
oposal

by

Tuesday,

December

31,

2019.

Vi
si
t
Li
mmudMi
chi
gan.or
g

Cl
i
ck on Pr
opose for more det
ai
l
s.

We’
r
e
seeki
ng
volunt
eer
s!
How
can
you
help?

Many
vol
unt
eer

oppor
t
uni
t
i
es
avai
l
abl
e.


Be
a
key
par
t

of

a
r
emar
kabl
e
day


of

Jewi
sh
exper
i
ence
and
l
ear
ni
ng!

Vi
si
t
Li
mmudMi
chi
gan.or
g


Cl
i
ck on Volunt
eer
for more det
ai
l
s.

SUNDAY,

Mar
ch
22,

2020

The
St
udent

Cent
er

East
ern
Mi
chi
gan
Uni
versi
ty


Ypsi
lanti
,

Mi
chi
gan

An i
ncl
usi
ve festi
val
of unexpect
ed Jewi
sh l
earni
ng—run entirely by vol
unt
eers

gift guide 2019

continued from page 34

l PG-20