Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say: Mariah Carey and I have something in common. Unfortunately, it’s not the Hot 100 No. 1 oops I mean No. 2 Christmas song of the season. It’s that neither of us knew about White Elephant Gift Parties. These gift exchanging parties — sometimes called Dirty Santa or Yankee Swap — date back to the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries (according to the New York Times) and can have extensive rules and variations. The main gist is that the gifts exchanged are wacky, unnecessary, unwanted, or burdensome. Sounds like a party to me. In a recent interview with People Magazine, a reporter asked Mariah if she liked white elephant parties, to which Ms. Carey responded, “Say what now?”

Sure, Mariah Carey is the Queen of Christmas, but there’s one seasonal pastime she’s clueless about.

The “All I Want For Christmas Is You” singer was unaware of “white elephant parties” until a reporter for People explained them to her during an interview about her thoughts on various Christmas traditions.

Carey drew a blank when asked about “white elephant parties,” which, for the uninitiated, are parties where people trade bizarre, tacky or unwanted gifts with each other.

However, her response was sort of a gift in itself.

“I don’t know of said White Elephant Gift Party. Can you tell me about it?” Carey asked.

Once the reporter explained the concept, Carey admitted she had never participated in one, but added, “I’m always looking for a new game. Something’s fun, it’s good.”

However, she didn’t seem to be a fan of “secret Santa” gift exchanges.

“It’s just like, why? I don’t know,” she said.

Perhaps she just has other things to focus on in December. Her holiday hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is currently the No. 2 song in the country, after Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.”

[From HuffPost]

Of course Mariah has other things to focus on right now. She’s the “Queen of Christmas” and her holiday anthem is only at No. 2 — that might as well be No. Nothing!!! Don’t pester the Queen with peasant party trivia when there’s a crisis afoot! No, I jest (kind of) about Mariah’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” being dethroned (for the time being) by a 65-year-old classic. And like I said, in this instance I totally relate to Ms. Carey. If someone had asked me before reading this news item what a White Elephant Gift Party was, my pithy reply would’ve been “a soiree for those who are unable to see Pink Elephants On Parade.” Personally, I think mine sounds like more fun. Of course, as soon as I finished writing this post I got an email from Etsy with the subject line “White elephant gifts that wow.”

photos credit: BauerGriffin/INSTARimages and via Instagram