63 Perfect White Elephant Gifts That'll Cost You Less Than $25 (2024)

FAQs

What are cheap white elephant gifts? ›

“There [are] some things that you can't go wrong with in general: beeswax candle sticks, pretty stationery, a box of chocolates, lottery tickets, a small bottle of rum if it's the right crowd to give alcohol to,” Smith says. “There are certain general things that can make for really fun gifts.”

A: Most White Elephant gift exchanges or Yankee Swaps have a set price range to make sure everyone is gifting items of equal value, so check in with the person organizing the swap first. If you're still unsure, a good default range for a group of friends or coworkers is $10 to $25.

It's best to find something that is fun or quirky but is still useful. “When picking a white elephant gift, consider items that would appeal to the majority of the crowd,” says Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy's trend expert. After all, you're not buying for a specific person, anyone could end up with it!

The white elephant gift is not supposed to be ordinary. That generally means no gift cards, nice clothes, or common home goods. The more unusual or garish, the better! The present should be wrapped, bagged, or otherwise obstructed, so you can't tell what it is before opening it.

The White Elephant Game Rules

Sit in a circle and place the gifts in the center, preferably under a festive tree. The person who drew #1 selects a gift from the pile, opens it, and holds it up for all to see. The person who drew #2 decides whether to steal that gift or unwrap a mystery present from the pile.

Archer Roose was featured in ELLE as one of the best white elephant gifts you can give this Christmas. Who wouldn't want canned wine for the holidays? They wrote: “If you're picky about rosé in a can, this refreshing spirit will surprise you.

As far as white elephant gifts ideas go, candles are always a winning option.

Perfect White Elephant Gift! $15 worth of lotto scratchers and $1 frame from the dollar tree. Perfect White Elephant Gift!

Part of the fun is watching players try to conceal their “good” gifts or encourage players to take their “bad” gifts. Each gift should be attractively wrapped with no nametag.

White Elephant Rules

Once everyone is assembled, have each person draw a number. The person with number "one" chooses a present to unwrap. The person with number "two" has a choice: They may choose a new, wrapped present, or they may take the unwrapped present from the first person.

Are white elephant gifts supposed to be new or used? ›

You can re-gift items that you have never used from around your house or you can have people bring homemade items instead of store-bought gifts. White elephant rules aren't set in stone, just make sure to inform the group of the theme and price target.

What is a White Elephant gift exchange? White Elephant is a party game in which players bring wrapped gifts at a set price, such as $20. From there, they draw numbers and pick the gifts out one by one from the pile. They also have the option to steal.

The term white elephant refers to an extravagant, but impractical, gift that cannot be easily disposed of. The phrase is said to come from the historic practice of the King of Siam (now Thailand) giving rare albino elephants to courtiers who had displeased him, so that they might be ruined by the animals' upkeep costs.

In our experience, blankets are another popular white elephant gift item -- after all, who doesn't like staying warm and cozy in the winter? This soft flannel tortilla wrap blanket is a fun spin on the traditional white elephant winner.

Quartz has written an excellent and through explanation of the history of white elephants, which explains the cultural significance of gifting a white elephant to someone: “To possess a white elephant connoted political power, wealth and prosperity, great wisdom, and the love of one's people.