# Need Help with White Elephant Gift Exchange Ideas **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 20, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237 "2007-11-20T21:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/1 "2007-11-20T21:52:59Z")
We have a White Elephant gift exchange coming up for our office Christmas party, and I need some help with purchasing a gift for this. I’ve never been good at picking out gifts for these types of things, as I have some difficulty finding a decent gift that may appeal to men and women alike. I’d like to get a little more creative than the typical bottle of wine/booze. So I need some ideas. What was the coolest/most often exchanged gift you’ve seen go at one of these? Just so you know, we have a $30ish cap. The crowd is loose, but I’m not sure if “adult” gag gifts would be in good taste. Any suggestions would be appreciated. - SS ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/2 "2007-11-21T11:24:39Z")
I’m not very good at picking out gifts myself, but you could try what I do - google “gifts $30” and see what you get. I’ve found that on-line suggestions do help me get ideas. The only time I ever did one of these exchanges at work, the limit was $5 or $10. I ended up with a Mickey Mouse ornament. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/3 "2007-11-21T15:22:18Z")
The coolest/most exchanged gift I saw at a that type of a holiday gift exchange was a basket of toys from the dollar store. Stuff like a bird with a rubber band that you wound up and then it would flap its wings and fly across the room. But that was an exchange with a five or ten dollar limit. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/4 "2007-11-21T15:23:20Z")
You could also do something like buy an assortment of exotic flavored coffees, or something. Won’t appeal to everyone, but to those it appeals, it really appeals. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/5 "2007-11-21T16:23:42Z")
Movie tickets and gift cert for popcorn/soda/etc. I did that for Secret Santa one year and it went over really well. ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/6 "2007-11-21T16:41:23Z")
[Magnet on a stick](http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(x0obgwvixnbxbi45n1i2zrzt)/productdetails.aspx?sku=2107407&source=GoogleBase). This one we the gift we gave at last year’s family exchange. The one was bought was just a wooden handle about three feet long with a 3" diameter flat magnet on the end. It was very popular. You can find them at your local hardware store for around $20. ETA: You can be creative in wrapping this one which adds to the value at a gift exchange. Everyone was thinking it might be a toilet plunger, which was part of a previous year’s gift so not too outlandish a thought. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/7 "2007-11-21T18:18:08Z")
Last year for our $10 family gift exchange I bought $10 worth of 3-for-a-dollar (30) popcorn balls. It was a real hoot because the package was large and no one knew what it was…so everyone sort of wanted it. The recipient thought it was funny, and she ate a few and then gave the rest away. I thought it was much more “useful” than a $10 blank journal or something. 90 popcorn balls…that’d be awesome 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/8 "2007-11-21T18:20:59Z")
I thought the whole idea of a White Elephant exchange is that you give really crappy stuff. It’s almost a contest for who can give the worst item. Does it work differently elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/9 "2007-11-21T19:41:16Z")
When we do “White Elephant” that means it should be something you already own. Sometimes I’ll do a few related books, like humor or science fiction. That has gone over well sometimes. Bath & Body Works type packages are usually some of the biggest hits. The worst gift I ever saw for one of these was a package of ground beef. Why yes, the person who opened it was Hindu and vegetarian … (thankfully, someone did switch with her). ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/10 "2007-11-21T19:58:03Z")
White Elephant round these parts means unusual or crappy gift. Can be new or re-gifted. The one I picked out a few years ago was the hit of the party. It was a 50 pound concrete Elvis head. The person who is now the proud owner has him on his desk and decorates him seasonally. He is currently wearing a Pilgrim hat. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-white-elephant-gift-exchange-ideas/427237/11 "2007-11-21T23:05:39Z")
[QUOTE=Beadalin] I thought the whole idea of a White Elephant exchange is that you give really crappy stuff. It’s almost a contest for who can give the worst item. Does it work differently elsewhere? [/QUOTE] We had one guy who threw a party for the people that worked in his unit, and the invitation always said there would be a White Elephant gift exchange with a $10 limit. I think most people have the same understanding of White Elephant as you do, but the people in the unit understood that what this party included was a gift exchange with a $10 limit. If no one thought to clue new people in, the result was really embarrassing for the newbies, who invariably brought really crappy stuff.