If you're organizing a White Elephant exchange and want to handle gift submissions for your group, White Elephant Online allows Game Leads/Admins to submit and manage gifts on behalf of participants. This is especially helpful for organizations that want participants to simply show up and enjoy the exchange without having to select or submit their own gifts.
This article covers submitting gifts from outside retailers or uploading images of gifts you already own. Your group will coordinate purchasing and delivery separately after the exchange.
If you're using WEO Gifting, see Submit Gifts on Behalf of Participants with WEO Gifting for instructions on selecting gifts from the WEO Gift Catalog.
Note: The features described below are available for Standard Games.
Manage Participants' Gifts (non WEO-Gifting)
[NOTE: If you're using WEO Gifting, see Submit Gifts on Behalf of Participants with WEO Gifting for instructions on selecting gifts from the WEO Gift Catalog]
If your participants have already joined your game, you can submit gifts on their behalf.
- Open your game from the White Elephant Online Dashboard.
- From your game screen, open Edit Game Settings.
- Select the Player Management tab.
- Enable the option allowing you to submit gifts on behalf of participants, then save your changes.
- Return to the game screen and open the Gift Table and click Manage Gifts.
- From the dropdown at the top, select the participant whose gift you'd like to submit.
- Enter the gift details using a product link from an online retailer or an image of a gift you already own.
- Customize the gift's virtual wrapping and save it.
- Repeat for any remaining participants.
You can return to Manage Gifts to edit submitted gifts before the exchange begins.
For more information about gift links, images, and virtual wrapping, see Submit a Gift from an Outside Retailer.
Create Dummy Players
[NOTE: If you're using WEO Gifting, see Submit Gifts on Behalf of Participants with WEO Gifting for instructions on selecting gifts from the WEO Gift Catalog]
If you want participants to attend the exchange without creating White Elephant Online accounts, you can create dummy players.
Dummy players are participants added by the organizer who aren't associated with individual email addresses or user accounts.
Because they don't have accounts, they can't log in to White Elephant Online themselves. The Game Lead manages their participation during the exchange.
How to Add Dummy Players
- Open your game and navigate to the Manage Event tab.
- Click Use Dummy Players to open the Player Management tab of Game Settings.
- Make sure both checkboxes are enabled.
- In the Dummy Players field, enter a participant's name and press Enter.
- Repeat for additional participants. You can also paste a comma-separated list of names and press Enter to add multiple participants at once.
- To remove a name, click the X next to that participant.
- Click Save Game when finished.
Your dummy players will appear in the attendee list on the game screen.
Submit Gifts for Dummy Players
Once you've created your dummy players, follow the instructions in Manage Participants' Gifts above to submit and virtually wrap a gift for each participant.
Since dummy players don't have accounts, the organizer is responsible for preparing their gifts and coordinating gift purchases and delivery after the exchange.
If you want participants to be able to log in, view their own game information, or manage their accounts, they should join using their own White Elephant Online accounts instead.
What Happens After the Game?
Once the exchange ends, your group can review the results to see which gifts each participant won.
Because these gifts were submitted from outside retailers, White Elephant Online does not automatically purchase or ship them.
The organizer or designated participants are responsible for arranging gift purchases and delivery to the winners.
For more information, see Gift Delivery After the Game and End of Game Summary.