You’ve been invited or are throwing a White Elephant gift party. What kind of gifts are appropriate? Well, first you have to know the dollar limit everyone should adhere to and then know the rules of the exchange. The basic White Elephant party rule is to bring one item that will be assigned a number and placed in a stack with the other gifts. Some parties stick to a pick a number and open your gift and it’s yours rule. Other parties allow you to pick a gift that has been opened by someone else and then take their gift instead of picking a new number. Sometimes this exchange is allowed until a certain gift has been exchanged a total of three times. If you have a number near the bottom of the list, that rule is pretty cool because you get to see what is available and then decided if you want one of the opened ones or take a chance on what is left. Remember, the biggest present may not be the best, gag gifts come in all sizes.
Ideas for items you own:
- Bring something you own but that you don’t ever use that is still in new condition such as a pair of boots that never matched anything in your closet or a strange painting you picked up at a garage sale.
- Ceramic whats-its are good because you never know what someone else will treasure, even if you didn’t like it. Think about “bargains” you got or gifts from other White Elephant parties that you could not get rid of.
- Items that have company logos on them from other companies such as mugs, baseball hats, or T-shirts. Or if you have items from your present company and it’s a company party, remember a lot of people love getting stuff from their job — especially if you have one and they don’t.
Ideas for items you can make:
- Take a solid color glass ball ornament, use puffy T-shirt or a permanent marker and write Merry Christmas on it. You can also use glue to write with and then sprinkle with glitter. Wrap it in festive paper and voila…a custom gift that costs about a buck-fifty.
- Get an old fancy liquor bottle that is empty. FIll with laundry detergent. Make a tag that says what brand is inside.
Items you buy:
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A $5.00 gift card from any fast-food restaurant
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Holiday-themed dish towels from a dollar store
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A whoopie cushion or a squirting flower
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Unusual holiday-themed candies such as gummy Santas, or fudge Snowmen
With these tips in mind, any White Elephant gifting should be a blast. You never know what you will get and everyone will have a good laugh.
