I recently hosted a book white elephant at a party, and it was such a hit that I want you to steal the idea.
It was simple to arrange and to host. You know that holiday gift exchange where everyone draws a number and then goes in numerical order to choose a gift? This time I used a bookish theme.
I asked guests to bring a wrapped book. Any book. Many of my friends are authors, so I made sure they felt comfortable bringing their own books.
I painted macarons on the number cards and made macaron bookmarks for everyone, because who doesn’t love the color of macarons?
When a book was unwrapped, the giver said a few words about why they chose this book. Everyone loved their book. The person who got a copy of my The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book said it was a ‘sign’.
I also brought a ‘trick’ book – one of my favorite blank books, a Hahnemüle Diary Flex. This is one of my favorite journals, so much so that I give them to all my clients. They are refillable; I used five inserts for notes while writing my last novel. The lucky winner of this book passed it around for everyone to make a note.
The bulgy book you see in the photo contained a book about maple syrup in Canada plus a tiny bottle of maple syrup.
I was a little nervous that people would resist, or forget, or not want to participate. But everyone was into it! The party was fun before we did the book ritual, but afterward, there was a palpable difference in the room. More ease, more warmth, and the kind of rich connection that books can make between people. We had six nationalities in the room, and books connected us all. Priya Parker, author of one of my favorite books, The Art of Gathering, would be proud!
It was a resounding success, so we decided to make it a tradition.
Try this at your next gathering! If you are a book lover like me and can’t get enough of books, this sparks connections among guests and is a great conversation starter.
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