What game should you play at a white elephant or Secret Santa party?
Short answer
White elephant and Secret Santa already are the game, so the best companion fills the gaps while gifts are opened or stolen. For friends and family, a pass-the-phone game fits: it needs no props and pauses whenever the phone is set down. Pass the Phone does not run the swap itself, and we would skip it at an office exchange.
By the Pass the Phone team. Last updated October 18, 2026.
White elephant has a built-in problem: the swap is fun for the person choosing and slow for everyone else. Companion games work when they are interruptible, need nothing but what is already in the room, and can be picked up by someone who walked in late. A phone passed around a circle is all three, and it stops cleanly the moment it is someone's turn to steal.
Pass the Phone, the app we make, plays 3 to 8 players on one phone with no account and no connection once installed. It does not run the gift exchange: it does not assign Secret Santa pairs, track who stole what or enforce steal limits. It is a prompt game you play alongside the swap, and its prompts ask the group to pick a person ("pass the phone to whoever..."). That is the point with friends and family. It is the wrong tool at an office party: our Christmas party guide advises no confession games, no truth or dare and no voting on colleagues there, and lists four office games that take no person in the room as their subject. If your exchange is at work, use that guide instead of this app.
For a friends-and-family exchange, Friends & Family is the tamer free mode, though 40 of its 200 prompts are close-friend ones. Party Starter includes Wild and Embarrassing prompts about exes and flirting, plus English seasonal packs while they are in season, and the app cannot filter categories.
10 prompts that suit a gift-swap crowd
- This one's for whoever takes thirty minutes to order food
- Pass it to whoever's secretly the most competitive here
- Point the phone at whoever takes board games way too seriously
- Hand it to the person who falls for literally every prank
- Hand it to the person who'd actually win a cooking show
- Pass it to whoever laughs at their own joke before they finish it
- Slide it to the one who'd take the blame for all of us
- Slide it to the one who never lets you walk out the door hungry
- This one's for the friend who saves you the last bite without being asked
- Hand it to whoever would trust a fortune cookie with a major life decision
Use it in the gaps. Run a 10 prompt game as a warm-up while people find seats and get a drink, then start the swap. Start another when the table slows down, or while the last few people wait for their turn.
Because the game lives on one phone, it pauses whenever the phone is set down, for example when the next person in the swap is up. A tie-in that works: when the last prompt is done, the summary shows who got picked most, and that person chooses first in the swap or sets the order for the table.
A group bigger than 8 is better split. Play a game at each table, or at one table while the others wait on the swap, rather than stretching one game across the room. Each game holds 3 to 8 players.
Start a One-Phone Round
Add 3 to 8 players, choose a mode, and pass the phone. Available on iOS and Android.
Does Pass the Phone run a white elephant or Secret Santa exchange?
No. It does not assign Secret Santa pairs, set the order of a white elephant swap or track steals. It is a separate prompt game to play while the exchange happens.
How many people can play?
Each game takes 3 to 8 players on one phone. For a larger swap, run it for one table or start a second game on a second phone.
Can we use it at an office gift exchange?
We would not. Its prompts ask people to pick each other, and our Christmas party guide advises against voting on colleagues at an office party. The guide lists four games that take no person in the room as their subject.
What do we need to play?
One phone with the app installed. The other guests need no app, no account and no connection.
Party Games You Only Need One Phone For
The best party games you can play on a single phone. No second device, no wifi, no setup. 3-8 players, 300+ prompts, offline. Pass the phone and play. iOS & Android.
Group Games to Play on Your Phone
Fun group games you play on one phone. No extra gear, no wifi, no signup. 3-8 players, 300+ prompts, offline reveal and Wrapped summary. iOS & Android.
What Is Pass the Phone, and How Do You Play It?
Pass the phone is a party game played on one phone: read a prompt, pick who it fits, hand it over. Meaning, rules, sample prompts and FAQ. Free and offline.