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Depending on where you are in the world, you may have different names for White Elephant. Whether you call it Yankee Swap, Dirty Santa, or Grab Bag, this Christmas tradition involves exchanging impractical yet amusing gifts, then stealing them from someone later on.
It’s a typically fun and rowdy gift exchange that has evolved over the years. Nowadays, people have become extravagant with their presents, leading to friendly fights among partygoers.
Here are some examples people discussed in a recent Reddit thread. Perhaps this list could also give you some ideas for the White Elephant at your Christmas party.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A remote weather station, where you mounted a transmitter outdoors, and the display inside told you temperature, pressure, humidity, wind chill, and even had a programmable alarm for conditions. (Let me know when it falls below freezing type of thing).
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#2
We’ve been a wapping the same 8x10 framed headshot of Elvis for about 30 years at my work. Whoever gets it has to sign the back and keep it in their office all year. Everyone tries to disguise it by wrapping it to look like other things.
WindySwede 51 minutes ago
Current headline "80 White Elephant Gifts So Perfect, Everyone Tried To Steal Them". does not applies to this though? 🤔
#3
Christmas 2019, my wife's coworker hosted a party with spouses invited. The budget was capped at $25. I brought a cast iron skillet. My wife thought it was a terrible gift and was embarrassed. But it was by far the most popular gift. And a few months later when everybody was stuck at home, the person who took it home commented how much they use it.
#4
I got the book "P is for Pterodactyl: the worst alphabet book written" and everyone fought over it. I was like "its on Amazon...".
#5
A cemetery plot in a ghost town.
Costs about $10.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 hour ago
Yeah, a cool place to bury the.... uh... treasure chest I have. Arrrr 👀
#6
Someone gave me a vomiting cat gravy boat for my birthday one year, and although I am admittedly immature as [hell] I am also a good cook and have no interest in making family members associate my holiday gravy with cat vomit. So I brought the thing to the work white elephant party and it got repeatedly stolen. Better them than I.
#7
My dad brought a copy of the Dr. Demento Christmas CD (which includes classics like Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus, and I’m Gettin Nuttin for Christmas).
Every time someone would snag it, it would get snagged in turn the next round.
#8
I went to a retro candy store. Bought candy. All the people (except 2) were 45-85. Got stuff like Gold Rush sack, whoppers, pez, sweethearts, tons of stuff I hadn’t seen i YEARS. Was an absolute hit!
#9
A mini Frah-gee-lay lamp. The winner kept it in his office so everyone could stay jealous.
#10
My partner's family did white elephant with the side of his family that's like rabbits. There were like 30 people fighting over a framed painting of a cat in Victorian clothes I found in the clearance bin at Home Goods.
#12
We do a “[stuff] from inside your house” version. Last years hot gift was a broken cuckoo clock. Year before was a bowling ball in a Samsonite case circa 1980. Another year was a chia zombie hand. One never knows what delights will show up under the tree.
#13
A set of salt shakers that looked like pandas side-hugging eachother and sitting on a leaf shaped dish.
#14
One year it was a collection of things but the highly coveted part was a black stiletto shoe tape dispenser. Ofc one of the guys ended up with it last and kept it on his desk.
#15
My cousin made a firefighter calendar. She photoshopped the faces to be our family members. It was HILARIOUS.
#17
A Stanley cup- I had it at one point until it got snatched lol I was so bummed. But then I showed up to work the next Friday and someone had bought me one anonymously 🥹.
#18
My step grandmothers hand sewn sock monkeys. She’d make them every year and the adults would always fight over them.
#19
A frozen salmon. One of our VPs just returned from Alaska and brought a cooler full of frozen, line-caught salmon.
#20
I’m proud to say that my gift at the office white elephant gift exchange has been “stolen” 3 out of 3 years. What I bring is 2 houseplants, propagated from other house plants.
#21
I had bought a fancy bidet and they accidentally sent me two, so I brought it to the white elephant. Everyone else brought fun silly little trinkets or straight up goodwill trash (someone brought a framed picture of Jesus, the one that looks like Obi Wan). Actual friendships were ruined by the end of the night, I went home with a glass bottle shaped like a fish, the girl who got it is so dumb I doubt she ever figured out how to install /use it. And I regret it to this day bc I’ve had to buy another (cheaper, worse) one when I moved.
#22
One year I did a crock pot and this recipe book that you wrote your own recipes in. It was a hardcover, had different tabs to organize recipes and then slots for the recipe cards. Wrapped it nicely too. It was the most fought over gift! Practical too lol.
#23
An empty jar labeled "jar of farts" because it was funny.
#24
My white elephant gifts normally get fought over at my work Christmas party. I find scenic paintings (better if they look old) from flea markets and good wills and then I paint silly quotes and who said them on top.
Examples: "Spit in my mouth" - Batman
"I'm too drunk to taste this chicken" Colonial Sanders
I think they're funny lol.
#25
Unicorn slippers that flashed lights when you took a step.
#26
For the white elephant gift at work I took the cardboard tube from a bottle of Laphroaig Scotch and put a bottle of pork rinds flavored vodka in it and wrapped it up. When it first got unwrapped people lost their minds. It probably changed hands 15 times but no one bothered to open the tube. People were trading waffle irons and good bottles of mezcal for the scotch. The guy that ended up winning it too it home unopened and never talked about it afterward.
UPDATE: This took place several years ago. So I talked to him this morning. He said he never tried it and he thinks he regifted it. He seemed to think it was funny, which makes me feel like less of a [jerk].
#27
I purchased a fairly expensive thong (panties ) from Victoria’s Secret and women AND men fought for it. I never admitted that it came from me, and nobody ever knew or suspected because I’m an old lady. I have done this three times.
#28
We were 21 years old, but a marshmallow nerf gun and a bag of marshmallows.
Bi.Felicia 53 minutes ago
There is no age limit to nerf guns, especially one that shoots marshmallows.
#31
My very catholic grandmother (RIP) traded hers for a t-shirt I bought at the thrift store that had an image of Jesus on it and the caption was “Jesus is coming back! Everyone look busy!” Our family rotates the trophy for best white elephant gift for the year, and it was given to me for that $3 shirt. I was already drunk but my head still spun and my gf at the time was crying laughing and my mom looked at me like she raised the best cynical [jerk] ever and she was proud.
#32
Honestly, the most desirable white elephant gifts are the super practical, useful things that you’d never think to buy on your own. I saw a knife sharpener get traded like 20 times once. Last year, I fought hard for a towel warmer…that I didn’t get! I’ve seen really nice Tupperware sets and super bright flashlights make people crazy.
I’m telling you, practical and random, but clever, is the way to go.
#33
An English wool blanket. My sisters idea of white elephant is to buy [stuff] you want and steal it back. She uses her children to help her since they're old enough to participate and live with her. My pregnant cousin cried when she opened the bag and cried harder when my niece yoinked it out of her hands.
#34
I ended up getting a cooler worth around $150 after stealing it back multiple times. I've carried it in the back of my vehicle, every day for like 4 years now. It's something I never really thought about buying myself, but I love it.
#36
Bidet toilet seat attachment. I bought it for myself and everyone fought over it. It was stolen 4 times.
Bi.Felicia 49 minutes ago
This is the second bidet entry in this list so far, who woulda thunk they'd be so popular?
#38
Someone randomly brought an Arizona Iced Tea-designed Razor scooter.
Yes I strategized my way into trading for it.
#39
I once brought a Commander Riker garden gnome to a white elephant and that sucker was a hit!
#40
A wreath we got at goodwill that had these painted characters on it with a gate of a garden. The words were “Backdoor Guests are the Best!” It was an instant hit since it was a giant group of LGBTQ+ young adults.
#41
A couple of years ago there was this fanfiction that became a meme in my friend group. I turned the fic into a physical book with a cover I designed myself and had it professionally printed. That and a spoon rest I painted was desired by almost the entire group and it was hilarious how in-demand it was. I won't ever be able to pull something like that off again.
#42
Did a white elephant where gifts were stolen before anything was opened, so based on packaging, size, and weight alone. Everyone fought over the pretty heavy, rectangular, gift I brought. The person got to open the gift I brought went home with a big jar of pickles.
#45
I had a bowling pin that I decided to get rid of and that thing was such a hit I had major regrets about bringing it.
#46
Last year I brought a rotisserie chicken from Costco and wrapped it up nice. It went through several participants.
#47
One of those like $25 Polaroid cameras was a huge hit at my work Christmas party last year.
#48
A few years ago, it was a gallon of really really high quality olive oil...
We're an Italian American family.
#49
I gifted a deed to first dibs on any one of my internal organs upon my natural passing.
It was oddly popular.
#51
A lock picking trainer set and a Balaclava.
This year im giving a Blahaj shark and a DVD on shark attacks… can’t let people get TOO comfortable around sharks.
Bi.Felicia 36 minutes ago
I never knew they were officially called Blahaj shark...Blåhaj (pronounced "blah-high") is a popular, large blue shark plush toy from IKEA, famous for becoming a beloved internet meme and a cultural icon, especially within the transgender and LGBTQ+ communities as a symbol of acceptance, comfort, and queer identity, alongside its general appeal as a cute, huggable toy for all ages. It's known for its soft texture, friendly embroidered eyes, and distinctive blue-gray color, making it a viral sensation and a relatable mascot for many.
#53
Bop-it star wars. I didn't expect it to go over so well but people were excited, especially to share at upcoming holiday gatherings.
I think it was a Chewbacca and it made amazing noises. We have three at home (Yoda, chewy, darth) and the kids love them.
#54
Lottery tickets. Scratch offs. I hate the lottery. I left them unscratched on my desk for months. Pissed everyone in the office off big time. My kids finally took them home without me noticing after stopping by the office on a weekend stop. There was a $200 winner in the bunch.
I still hate the lottery.
#55
Manager on my time wrapped his old printer because his family got a new one. We didn’t even know if it worked but it was outright COVETED for very 2000s reasons.
#56
I brought a white elephant teapot off Etsy. I was delighted that everyone seemed to want it, until I realized that all the men in the office wanted it to re-gift to their wives in lieu of putting a single moment’s thought into a gift for them, and then I just felt bad for their families.
#58
Michael Jackson painted on velvet canvas. That thing made the rounds for years but in a “oh no did I get it this year?” Kinda way. One year it was left in the empty fireplace after the party was over. Scared the daylights out my toddler the next morning.
#59
My grandmother apparently had a perfume that she wore all the time that all her kids thought smelled awful. Jean Natay or something like that.
After she passed, one of the siblings gifted the same perfume to another, and they all had a laugh about how bad it smelled. Years later, it still gets passed around for white elephant if we have one. We havent had one for a long while bc a lot of family moved different places, but it’s a core memory for me.
So when i say “fought over”, it was more like “NO I DONT WANT THIS AGAIN SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE IT”.
#61
One year I nested several boxes, each separately wrapped, in one large box. It took the recipient some time to open them all. The last & smallest box held the gift -- a box cutter.
#62
This telescoping plastic stool thing that collapses into a disk the size of a small Frisbee but was somehow still sturdy enough for a 200 lb man to stand on. People were playing with it the whole party.
#67
Literally a ceramic white elephant. About the size of a football. I brought it because I thought it would be goofy joke gift. Hell, everyone wanted that literal white elephant. Weird people.
#68
I had a desk job at Knott’s Berry Farm in 1999 and we had a white elephant, the gift everyone fought over was a goldfish Christmas ornament with giant cartoony lips. Pretty sure that’s the only white elephant I’ve been to.
Edit: I should really tell the rest of the story. The lady who ended up with it had a reputation of being pretty mean and yelling at people, I know she made me cry once. After she got it she announced that the silly fish had inspired her to be a nicer person and she was really going to try to be nicer. I left soon after but she really was nicer until then at least.
#69
I picked up a cheap pair of high heels at goodwill and hot glued an entire box of uncooked macaroni noodles to them. The pasta pumps were the MVP that night.
Edit: ok, ok…lots of questions. First, no photo, sorry folks, this was about 20 years ago, pre cell phone camera, pre social media. Not every moment was captured for posterity. Why… my wife was a teacher (still is, but was then too). She had a group of 12 or 15 teacher buddies that would go out for drinks, dinner, etc. That evolved into a monthly supper club, and the husbands/SOs were eventually dragged in. An annual Christmas party began, including white elephant. Turns out, teachers get A LOT of redundant gifts from students: Christmas oven mitts, Christmas kitchen towels, Christmas coffee mug full of candy. Teacher humor + white elephant = regifted student gifts. Pretty funny to them I suppose, pretty lame to the guys. So we decided to jazz it up a bit. A jar of moonshine, an actual/antique velvet Elvis (still hanging in one guy’s garage after 20+ years), bottle of Beano, stuff like that. The pasta pumps were just a silly-assed attempt to outdo the competition, and they went over remarkably well. They were claimed as une oeuvre d’art, not as an actual garment.
Thanks for the upvotes. I hope I’ve inspired some creative ideas. Cheers, and Happy Holidays!
#70
A set of Lush bath bombs. I didn’t realize it would be so popular when I bought it (I just picked something I wanted) but it turns out a lot of people want to bathe in pink water.
#71
A pimp cane with a skull.
I took that one and, coincidentally, ended up actually relying on it for the next week or so due to messing up my knee later that night... again.
Worst pain of my life.
#73
A suitcase. It was our first year doing a White Elephant and both of my grandmas were traveling after the holidays, so when one grandma called the suitcase the other was trying to trade and calling on technicalities to try and get it too. None of us knew the rules particularly well, so we kept going through the circle, gifts kept getting traded, we were taking sides, parents convincing kids to take the suitcase to try and get it to a grandma. It was very loud chaos! At one point the 5 year old had the suitcase and both grandmas were trying to win him over with a mini waffle maker and a blanket and socks combo.
Grandma #2 got the suitcase. I got a can of beans and a sketchpad courtesy of my cousin lol.
#75
A bottle of Captain Morgan in a puzzle box (the gift I brought). I gave the winner the whole weekend to figure it out before I would let them have the instructions to solve it.
#77
Our family would always have atleast one giant toblerone bar in the mix. The triangular prism was always a quick and easy grab for someone who didn't want to gamble on getting something subpar. Year after year my Dad was the one to bring it, always a gift everyone fought over and inevitably finding a good home for that delicious, delicious mountain range of chocolate and nougat.
That is until one year, we decided to have a little fun... We set about folding a piece of cardboard into a triangle that perfectly matched the unique and singular box, indiscernible from the true packaging. Nestled inside was a tube of the worst possible fruit cake you could imagine, an absolutely diabolical bait and switch. The trap was set, sure to make an aunt or uncle laugh at their own misfortune. Unfortunately for all of us, my youngest cousin had grown a love for chocolate and got to go first. She immediately sprung the triangular trap card.
She cried. A lot. The family did not laugh. We no longer played white elephant.
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highwaycrossingfrog 1 hour ago
We don't have this in England, or not that I'm aware of. We might have a Secret Santa at work, but you just keep what you're given. I have questions. Is it a free-for-all grab or do people get individual gifts? How do you steal a gift? How is it decided when you get to keep what you've stolen? Does everyone just get one opportunity to steal something? Do they give their unwanted gift to the person they stole from?
Trillian 1 hour ago
Also waiting for an answer, all this talk about stealing or going through several people was very confusing.
Load More Replies... highwaycrossingfrog 1 hour ago
We don't have this in England, or not that I'm aware of. We might have a Secret Santa at work, but you just keep what you're given. I have questions. Is it a free-for-all grab or do people get individual gifts? How do you steal a gift? How is it decided when you get to keep what you've stolen? Does everyone just get one opportunity to steal something? Do they give their unwanted gift to the person they stole from?
Trillian 1 hour ago
Also waiting for an answer, all this talk about stealing or going through several people was very confusing.
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