Freestyle + White Elephant Gift Exchange

White Elephant Gift Exchange (WEGE): This may be your only chance to re-gift that “undesirable” bobble or whats-it that you got for Christmas.

Every year for Christmas my evil ex in-laws would give me the exact same gift that properly symbolized how well they knew me and how much they cared. For 24 years I received a bushel-basket sized bag of white tube socks from Gabe’s, a local discount/factory seconds store based in Morgantown, WV. If I were still married, that’s what I would re-gift in this gift exchange. No worries. I have since recovered emotionally and all my socks match and are all the same length. Goodwill was the lucky recipient of my 24-bushel sock collection quite some time ago. Things are better now.

If you have nothing that merits being re-gifted, please try to keep the price limit to around $15. Remember, no one is required to participate in the gift exchange. You can watch and still have fun.

The way this works: Each person bringing a gift will get a pretty yellow ticket (just like the ones we use for the Queen of Hearts). When the gift exchange starts I will draw a ticket and read the number. The person with that ticket may select a gift from the table. Being first is not a true victory in this instance. The next person whose number is drawn will chose a gift AND if they don't like it, they can exchange it for (steal?) the one the previous person selected. It goes on and on as mayhem ensues. Only one exchange. Exchange for any previously selected gift. Got it? Good.

On Freestyle night - just bring a bottle to share. There is NO formal wine tasting like on other weeks. Door charge is $10 (cash or Venmo only please). We may have some left over wines to clear out! Glasses are provided. Take Care. See you there.

Parking: There are several public parking lots near the Alive614 hall. Please be careful to NOT park in private parking lots. They do tow. Check Google maps to scope out your space. Anyone who is early could easily find a parking space on the street nearby. I am told that the Chase parking lot is safe after hours.

Glasses: …will be provided. Please note that after the wine tasting, the EMPTY glasses need to be returned to the boxes at the service table. Please do not make me hunt down your empty glass. Please be gentle, our glasses are fragile. Uh, they are made of glass!

Food: You are welcome to bring a snack to share. It is not required. Most people do though. If no one brings anything, there will be nothing.

Code of Conduct: Though mostly understood, it’s still worth mentioning. We don’t have rules per se, but we highly discourage the following topics of discussion because they are likely to incite anti-social responses - Sex, Politics, Religion. Please don’t mistake this as an attempt to limit your free speech rights but rather a guide to a place and time for appropriate discussions.

After the lights go out: After the last sip of wine, when we clean up and turn the lights out, if you still haven’t had enough of us, it is typical for a group to get together and go to a local eatery for food and/or drinks or coffee.

Again, We look forward to meeting new members and reuniting with old friends.

Sincerely, Paul Uttermohlen,
Red 1 Realty
Your Hilliard Wine Club Host