Seems like its really popular for us this year! We are attending 3 different parties where they are having a white elephant gift exchange. Each of the parties are asking for a $25.00 gift.
I'm trying to come up with some better ideas than the typical gift card!
What are some of the best gifts you've scored at a gift exchange like this? Was there a particular gift that was stolen more than once?!
apricot / 254 posts
I was at one last year, and my work is doing one this year. I'm planning on buying a nice coffee mug and a pack of k-cups since all of my coworkers (except me) drink coffee.
cherry / 149 posts
Board games! There are some fun ones- like Balderdash The Game, Wits and Wagers, Taboo, Cranium, etc.
What about a gourmet foods gift basket (like Swiss Colony or something)?
Perhaps even a small appliance- like a panini machine, waffle maker, fondu pot?
A couple of holiday movie DVDs perhaps?
cherry / 166 posts
We do this at work and the one stipulation is that you can't buy a gift-it has to be something from home that you don't want anymore. I cannot figure out what to bring!
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
We've never been to one with such a high limit. We once brought scratch off lottery tickets that got stollen a lot.
I think it also depends on the group. We go to a party that has a lot of ladies, and I always bring a cook book which is popular.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
We usually give a gift card and attach it to a board game or...even better...a case of beer. Beer, wine and liquor go GREAT at white elephant parties. 
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
We do a White Elephant at my IL's house (although we call it a Yankee Swap).
This year I picked up a Snuggie and two of those Pocket Chair things from Five Below.
The most popular gift we've had was from DH's grandmother. It was a tiny wooden stool (like the kind you put in a dollhouse?) in a film canister. There was a $20 bill wrapped around the stool, and she wrote "Stool Sample" on the top of the canister.
pear / 1764 posts
@mommacommaphd: those are all great ideas! I also thought of board games but I love the other ideas. We are attending a party that will have a white elephant game this year, my first one, I can't wait
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
My husband's family has a white elephant party every year and the rule is that the item you bring has to be handmade. The best gift I have gotten was a cutting board my mil had made out of wood. I use it everyday.
pomegranate / 3980 posts
My husband almost fought another grown man for a spongebob chia pet at a white elephant gift exchange once... It was pretty embarrasing lol.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6703 posts
Anything wrapped in a series of larger boxes. I did that with a movie ticket wrapped in a small jar, in a small box, in a slightly larger box, and so forth. The largest box was one from an artificial christmas tree box and the gift was passed around so much until it was openned, and then it got such a laugh.
Candy, liquor, gift card inside of goofy pair of slippers, comic boxers?
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@cyndistar3: SO FUNNY! Chchchchia! Did you know people eat chia seeds now? It apparently suppresses your appetite and keeps you well hydrated.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
No good gift ideas.. I personally prefer giftcards. 
Starbucks! Or.. Cheesecake factory has a promotion going on right now. If you buy a $25 gift card, you get a free slice of cheesecake! #win!
apricot / 307 posts
@FutureMrsMcK: We just got a Five Below not far from where we live! I got child Snuggies for my nephews for Christmas! I told my brother and SIL about them. It got a good chuckle from them. I think that the kids are going to love it.
In the days leading up to our wedding, I tweeted that I was *this close* from buying a pink Snuggie. One of my friends got it for us as a wedding present. We still use it all of the time. We later got teased about it from one of my bridesmaids. When she visited for her birthday soon to be last year, I got her a green one!
apricot / 307 posts
If the person you got is a tea drinker, you could get something along that line. For two holidays now, my afternoon tea girls and I exchange tea or coffee (for one non-tea drinking friend) related gifts! I was so excited to receive a tea bag wallet where I can take tea bags with me when I visit my parents and keep around the house!
pomegranate / 3980 posts
@chopsuey119: Hahaha I wonder what inspired a person to eat chia seeds... "hey i need to supress my appetite and stay hydrated" "well, I have some chia seeds!" "okay! Lets try it!"
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@cyndistar3: i know, right? 
i'm actually gonna order some right now. i need to get rid of these last 8 lbs!
pomegranate / 3980 posts
@chopsuey119: lol I got my husband a chia pet for christmas this year, if I wasn't pregnant he might be wondering where his seeds went 
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
Um can someone explain what a white elephant gift exchange is?
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
@blushink: Everyone shows up and brings a wrapped gift to put in the center of the circle.
To determine the order, participants may draw numbers from a hat. Starting with #1 and up to the total number of people that are there.
The first person picks a gift, opens it, and shows it to the rest of the company. Then, the participants choose to either unwrap a new gift or to "steal" a previously unwrapped gift. If a gift is "stolen", the person who had their gift taken from them is allowed to unwrap any unopened gift or steal from someone else and then, the turn passes to the next person.
When we play, there is usually a maximum number of times a specific gift can be "stolen" after it has changed hands, say, 3x, the gift is stuck with that person and no one can steal it anymore.
When all the gifts have been opened, the game is over.
When we play, the person who drew #1 gets to go again at the very end once all the gifts have been opened and can steal from anyone on last time.
grapefruit / 4400 posts
I though White Elephant gifts were useless things that you had lying around the house, or funny things (like a Snuggie or SlapChop) that you'd end up buying. All of our White Elephant gifts have been stupid-- a donkey pinata full of candy, a giant TV remote control, etc. I wish I went to good White Elephant parties!
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
@HabesBabe: For SO's large extended family, this is the only type of gift exchanging they do for the holidays, so they usually pick out quality items so everyone gets something they enjoy.
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
@HabesBabe: It's the only gift exchange we do with my DH's family, or the anyway, the kids obviously all get presents. We had a $20-$25 limit, and we usually end up with half funny gifts, half serious gifts. Last year DH and I ended up with an iced tea maker that we never use. DH's aunt usually gets a $25 gift card to Amazon or Barnes and Noble. And then there's the aforementioned "stool sample".
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
at our family parties, it's usually at $15 limit. the popular stolen items are typically scratch/lottery tickets, liquor, or food (cookies, chocolate, etc).
clementine / 814 posts
Yep I think it just depends.. this is also the only gift exchanging adults do at our family christmas get together so we usually put a $20 price limit on gifts.
coconut / 8854 posts
Yea I thought that White Elephant gift exachange were ones where you don't "buy" anything, but rather take something that you already have around the house, wrap it, and then pick the gift and either keep it or pass? Normally a white elephant gift exchange is supposed to be a joke, like whose gift is the worst? At least where I live that's how all of our white elephant gift exchanges are....
grapefruit / 4554 posts
a popular choice at our family parties are gas cards or lottery tickets.
olive / 65 posts
I had never heard of white elephant before. I have heard of a Yankee swap though. Pardon my ignorance, but is white elephant used in New England. Sometimes I wonder if these terms are regional.
now I want to play....
pear / 1764 posts
@missifu: From my googling (I google EVERYTHING....)it looks like they are the same
http://robin.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-a-White-Elephant-Gift-Exchange
pear / 1764 posts
You're welcome I haven't ever been to one before, but from everything I've heard they sound like a blast! I can't wait!
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