Our Favorite White Elephant Gifts for Every Exchange

Bring the gift everyone will want to win from this year’s holiday party, from a cozy bathrobe for a bottle of wine to magnets they’ll wish they could eat.

White elephant parties present a unique challenge: Can you find a cool or funny white elephant gift within a set budget that a group of people—who are potentially strangers—will battle each other to take home? The true thrill of the game comes from finding something great in a pile of who-knows-what. Some folks bring joke gifts, some bring booze to be safe, and some gifts will feel like garbage to you but gems to others.

Favorite White Elephant Gift Ideas

Coffee Pot-Shaped Mug & Classic-Style Camera

One of my favorite gifts includes a coffee pot-shaped mug, and a camera that looks like the classic disposable-style camera but better. It’s easy to use, with the same satisfying spinning mechanic to load up your next photo. I did have a little trouble opening the hood to place the film and found following a video helpful to know every step and to be certain I wasn’t breaking the camera.

Make sure to include a roll of film and a AAA battery so whoever wins can start snapping photos right away. Or, if you’re really nice, load all these things up for them and stick a little note on the front that this camera is ready to start snapping photos.

Chic Legos

Dried Flower Centerpiece (Botanical Collection) – $49 on Amazon

Legos are fun for all ages, and they have cool sets we’d all be proud to display around our homes: architectural sets, floral sets, massive Star Wars sets, and more. Most of these won’t fit into a typical white elephant budget, but the Dried Flower Centerpiece Set gets pretty close at around $40. This is perfect for $40 to $50 gift exchanges. It’s a fun set to build alone or with a partner—I built mine with my husband for Valentine’s Day a couple of years ago, and now it’s a permanent fixture on our bookshelves. It even survived a move!

Paint by Numbers

Galison Liberty Paint by Number Kit Thorpe – $26 at Barnes & Noble

Instead of gifting puzzles this year, I’m gifting stylish paint-by-number kits. I started on this pretty one from Galison—it took about two hours so far with likely two more to go, which surprised me. The kit comes with 12 paint colors and three brushes. I might include a few more brushes or other painting accessories if the budget allows, but it’s a great gift for hobby-loving friends.

Tasty-Looking Magnets

Hey Foly Sushi Fridge Magnets – $17 on Amazon

Jazz up someone’s fridge with adorable sushi magnets. They almost look too real—the salmon nigiri looks ready to eat—but are still fun to look at. The magnets on the plastic rolls are small but strong enough to hold up papers and children’s artwork without slipping or falling. These magnets are a hit; everyone who visits comments on how cute they are. After a year of use, they’re holding up strong.

A Punchable Key

Nummove Big Enter Supersized Key – $16 on Amazon

This oversized punchable enter key is a little too much fun to have on my desk. It’s a great gift for coworkers, remote workers, or friends who like to decorate their cubicles. The punchable key’s function is simple: you punch it to hit enter. It’s a fun addition to lively chats or for a subtle passive-aggressive hint—unless your cubicle partner notices. Winning this gift during the game will be half the fun!

Cereal Anywhere, Anytime

CrunchCup XL – $25 on Amazon (currently $19, 24% off)

This dishwasher-safe CrunchCup has a small tubular reservoir for cereal nested inside a lidded plastic tumbler that holds a little over a cup of milk. The user drinks from the cup, and the cereal combines with the milk in their mouth instead of sitting soggy in a bowl. Tip: block half the milk hole with your lower lip so cereal has time to come out—otherwise, you might get a mouthful of milk without cereal.

It works best with smaller cereals like Cheerios, not heavier chunks like Raisin Bran. Perfect for anyone who loves cereal but forgets to prepare it in advance.

Adorable Sauce Dishes

Musubi Kiln Coneco Cat Sauce Plate Set – $53

A good white elephant gift is one anyone can use. These adorable cat-themed sauce dishes are perfect for soy sauce or as jewelry catchers or key holders. I keep one on my desk holding hair clips and ties, and the rest wait for sushi night in the kitchen. The variety of cats on each plate adds charm to any space.

Game-Night Candles

GMDice Gaming Candles – $16

If your group includes nerds or Dungeons & Dragons fans, these soy-wax candles themed around D&D spells, classes, and places are a must-have. Scents like Hunter’s Mark (fresh forest), Dwarven Tavern (warm honey mead), and Chainmail Bikini (tiki cocktail) bring extra ambiance to game night. The candles come in various sizes from 2-ounce tins to 20-ounce jars, plus wax melts.

Consider gifting two 8-ounce candles or a mix of 2-ounce tins for variety, or pair a candle with a new set of dice—because you can never have too many.

A Great Group Game

Listography: The Game – $27 on Amazon & Walmart

Finding a good group game that fits both small and large groups is tough. Listography is designed for three to six players but works well for up to 10. Players draw cards with prompts (e.g., “states that border Canada”) and list answers. The game board tracks movement, so if you have more than six players, bring extra tokens or miniatures.

Cool Drink Cozies

Puffin Drinkwear

Drink cozies are usually useful but often ugly. Puffin Drinkwear changes that by creating cozies styled like favorite outerwear layers—think hoodies, leather jackets, or spa robes for bottles of wine. These stylish cozies add personality to your drinks and make great gifts for outdoorsy friends or those who appreciate fun accessories.

Sweet LEDs

Govee RGBIC Pro LED Light Strips – $30 on Amazon

Smart LED light strips are an easy way to add ambiance to any home. The Govee RGBIC Pro offers multiple colors, customizable effects, and easy installation within a budget-friendly price range. This versatile strip can brighten up any space and make a great gift for tech lovers.

A Joke Box

Prank-O Gift Boxes – $10 on Amazon

Want to step up your white elephant game? Wrap your gift inside a Prank-O Box to confuse and amuse fellow attendees. Choices include the Cat Hat, Squirrel Hot Tub, and a 12,000-piece puzzle box—all hilarious and guaranteed to get laughs. These prank boxes are also big hits with kids for birthday gifts.

Honorable Mentions

Cannabis-Infused Beverage (starting at $40): This is a creative alternative to the classic bottle of booze. THC spirits often have a light, fruity flavor, somewhere between floral gin and sweet sake, and mix well in cocktails or seltzers. Best saved for green-friendly groups, and avoided at work parties.

Booze in general: Always a safe and popular pick. Nonalcoholic wine can also be a thoughtful choice to include everyone.

What Not to Bring to a White Elephant

• Basic, Single Candle: Unless it fits a fun, specific theme, skip plain candles that you can buy anywhere. Instead, include candles in gift baskets with complementary items.
• Puzzles: Hard to gift randomly because true puzzle enthusiasts want complex themes and a lot of pieces, while novices prefer easier puzzles. Paint-by-number kits are a better alternative.
• Live Animals: Don’t bring anything alive—no baby chicks, mice, fish, or similar.
• Sex Toys and Lingerie: Suitable only for very close and appropriate groups. Never bring these to work exchanges or mixed company.
• Actual Trash: Please don’t gift literal garbage, even as a joke.

Rules of a White Elephant

If you’re new to white elephant gift exchanges, here’s a quick overview:

1. Everyone brings a wrapped gift (usually within a specified price limit, like $25) and places it in a central pile.
2. Players draw numbers to determine the order of gift selection.
3. On your turn, you can either unwrap a new gift from the pile or steal a previously unwrapped gift.
4. Most games have a limit on how many times a gift can be stolen (commonly three times).
5. If your gift is stolen, you may unwrap a new gift or steal another from someone else (no take-backs).

Rules can vary by host, so check the specifics before the game begins. Have fun and happy exchanging!

https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-white-elephant-gifts-2025/