I Started the “PCWE” Tradition, and Now My Friends and I Will Never Go Back

I’m going to be real about where I am right now. Christmas is over, and I’ve rung in 2026. If you’re anything like me or my friend group, you might be hitting the gym hard, dragging yourself through dry January, or recharging your social battery on the couch binging all the shows you missed during the holiday craziness. But before you hibernate until February, I’m here to tell you there’s a better way to kick off the new year — one that gives those terrible holiday gifts new life and gives you the low-effort hangout your depleted social battery desperately needs: a post-Christmas white elephant party. Let’s call it the PCWE, because this party will earn acronym status on your annual calendar.

Every January, I host what’s become one of my favorite annual traditions: The PCWE is like any holiday white elephant gift exchange, with a sustainable twist. 

Guests are asked to bring a gift that meets the following criteria: 

1. A gift received during the holidays that you absolutely hated (Thanks, Aunt Lynn for the “dad joke” desk calendar). 
2. Something in your home that you want to get rid of.

Bottom line: No gifts can be purchased to participate in the gift exchange aspect of the party. 

Some highlights I’ve seen over the years: a DVD set of Italian language lessons, a children’s life preserver, and a massive beer stein. Those might be funny, but the gift tradition can also help people get real winners. I’ve seen people walk home with gorgeous sweaters that were too small for the initially gifted or a moka pot that was erroneously given to a non-coffee drinker. 

After a marathon month of endless consumption and often-forced holiday get-togethers, the PCWE feels revolutionary and cathartic. It’s freeing to offload things you don’t need (or want), but also to receive a gift where there is zero expectation to like it.  

The combination of rogue gifts and light interpersonal theft means that the PCWE party is marked by belly laughter, and the occasional protesting when someone steals your beloved new teapot. It is the perfect antidote to the stresses and pressure put on your social calendar during the holiday season.

I picked up this tradition from friends who lived in Germany who used to do this on New Year’s Eve. It’s followed me to a shared apartment in Washington, D.C., a tiny one-bedroom apartment in New York City, and now to my little Craftsman home in Dallas.

Ready to host your own PCWE party? Here’s how to put one together.

• Pick your date. Aim for mid to late January when everyone’s recovered from the holidays. My hot take is that mid-January is the best time to host a White Elephant party. It’s the time of the year where joy is needed and funds are low. What better time than January to spend nothing and still get rid of that awful sweater or sickly sweet candle your well-meaning relative gave you? Hosting a PCWE is the best way to turn that postholiday clutter into a veritable battle royale of (sometimes literally) trash. 
• Send a cheesy invitation. Regifting memes are in endless supply, so have fun with it. Make sure you clearly spell out the PCWE rules in the invitation: NO PURCHASES ALLOWED. Ask all guests to bring their gift wrapped. 
• Set the rules. Guests pick a random number from a hat. Player 1 picks first, then each person can either steal an opened gift or unwrap a new one. The person whose gift is stolen can then retake from the pile or steal from someone else. After two steals, a gift is “locked.” Once all gifts are opened, Player 1 gets one final chance to steal.
• Keep the menu simple. This isn’t a formal dinner party. It’s the party of minimal effort for all. Friends come for the laughs, not the food. This year, I’m ordering pizza and making easy dips for appetizers. Ask your guests to bring dessert to share.
• Enjoy the evening! Here’s the thing about PCWE: The “worst” gifts always become the most coveted. The joy is contagious, the competition is fierce, and somehow, that regifted item you thought nobody would want becomes the star of the show.

As everyone heads home with their new treasures (or travesties), you can take pride in your zero-waste conquering of the winter slump. You’ll have created a tradition that has nothing to do with spending money or keeping up appearances. In a world that tells you January is about restriction and self-improvement, PCWE is about abundance — of laughter, friendship, and yes, terrible gifts.