The holidays are approaching, which means it’s time to exchange gifts with loved ones. A common trend during the Christmas season is creative gift giving, and two of the most popular ways to do this are SecretSanta and White Elephant. But what makes these experiences different from simply handing a gift to someone?

Secret Santa is a gift exchange where each person draws a random name of someone in the group. Then, they anonymously get a gift for that person, without anyone else in the group knowing of the gift.

On the other hand, White Elephant is a similar concept of gift exchanging. Instead, every member of the group will buy a gift, and when it’s time to exchange the gifts, they will all place them on a table. Members will draw a random number, and that number will correspond to a gift on the table. People can make trades for gifts they would want more, or keep the chosen gift.

Sophomore Mac Golden shares, “I like Secret Santa more because it’s more personal and fun revealing who you have, and just overly more fun.” In Secret Santa, you are able to personalize the gift you buy, so it is relevant to who you selected.

Additionally, White Elephant makes it difficult to select a gift that another person will like. While on the hunt for gifts, the participant has to buy a gift everyone might enjoy. There is no saying who will choose the gift you bring, so if someone doesn’t like it, there is not much you are able to do.

A positive of White Elephant is that If any member wants to make a trade for a gift you have, you are able to do so in order to get a gift you’ll enjoy.

Sophomore Nayja Njenga claims: “The pros of White Elephant is that it doesn’t really matter what you get because someone chooses your gift.”

Overall, White Elephant and Secret Santa are great holiday activities to do with friends and family. Additionally, students have many opinions about them, a majority implying that Secret Santa is the most popular gift giving activity to do during the holiday season.