Are you planning to go to a Christmas party and wondering what to bring for the white elephant gift exchange? The good news is that there are a lot of fun gift exchange ideas popping up every year and 2024 is no different, so let's explore some of the options.
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Funny White Elephant Gifts you can buy ↴
Free, DIY, White Elephant Ideas you can make↴
It's worth noting, that traditionally, a gift of white elephant was a form of punishment by kings in asia. When one was gifted an actual white elephant, they had to accept and care for the animal while not being able to use it for labour as they feared upsetting the king. You had to accept such a present, even though it would bring nothing but unwanted and unjustifiable expenses.
The old tradition has evolved into something festive and fun, with a smidge of pranking and lots of laughter. While common white elephant gifts will be funny (GAG) and often impractical, there's nothing wrong with selecting something that people will in fact find useful.
Let's break down the gift ideas into two groups: Ones you can buy online with ease and ones you can put together yourself, both being budget friendly.Funny White Elephant gifts you can buy.
If the gift you bring to the party breaks out contagious laughter, you know you've picked a good one. Most gift exchange parties will expect you to not spend more than about twenty dollars on your present and of course the key to a well though out gift is not the price, but rather finding the most amusing one that will cheer up everyone. Here are a few you can pick up easily online:
Bacon Bowl Maker
For someone who loves bacon, there can not be too much bacon. Why use a regular bowl when you can eat the bowl itself because it's made of the most delicious crispy substance known to man? This bacon bowl maker not only will shape your bacon strips as a bowl, it will also catch all the grease and keep things tidy! Burrito bowls have never been better!
Ear Wax Candle Kit
You can kill two birds in one shot by being environmentally friendly and save money on led lighting by switching to candles that you make yourself! Did you know that average human produces 12 tons or ear wax per year? Just kidding, this is a prank box that you use to deceive friends into thinking you actually got something this disgusting, while packing a different gift inside like say a sweater.
Original Fanny Bank
3 AA batteries is a small price to pay for the delightful noise that this little coin bank makes every time you feed it a quarter, reminding you of that relative that thinks ripping a loud one is equivalent of a witty well constructed joke and has no shame. Not only will you save money for life's important financial goals but also be reminded that it's not really making a difference.
Poo Pillow
Yes, it's shaped as poop but look at that smile. How can you say no to hugging such a wonderful fluffy pillow that is always eager to see you? It can comfort you while you watch TV or just sit there and improve the atmosphere in the room. Plus it's a great conversation starter every time guests come over. Poo shaped pillow would make an adorable gift for someone you love, or hate.
The Gun Mug
If you hand someone in your office a gun shaped coffee mug, can they claim you were mugging them? You can't be too careful these days. Show up to a company meeting with this mug next time and they will subtly know you mean business. With 14 ounces of volume you will be packing heat for breakfast, lunch or dinner, just make sure to exercise proper trigger discipline, second degree burns are no joke.
The Man Bowl
So you want to subtly tell your husband that he's not doing a good job. Why have a conversation and express yourself, when you can passive aggressively serve him dinner with this stylish bowl that was really designed for dogs? Unless you love your dog more than your husband, in which case this could be a great way to show how much you love him!
Thumb Wrestling Ring
Everything is more fancy these days. Gone are the days when thumb wrestling was a simple game designed to infuriate your friend that you continuously beat. Now it is done in style thanks to this wonderful little thumb wrestling ring. It makes a great present not only for kids, but adults too who have a score to settle. If we could just get another thumb in there as referee it would be perfect.
Weener Kleener Soap
Whoever came up with this marvelous GAG gift, is a genius. You may think that this is just one of those funny gifts that everyone laughs off and forgets about, but looking at amazon reviews, seems like people have found this soap more useful than intended. Once a gift meant to amuse, today keeps millions of weeners clean across the globe. It's the best invention since sliced bread.Free/Cheap & Silly DIY White Elephant Gift Ideas
You don't have to spend any money to come up with a grat white elephant idea. You can use one of the DIY white elephant gift iedas below or come up with your version after you see how some of our readers been getting creative with their gift making. Don't forget to send us your idea on our contacts page as well!
* Magic Beans
Simply grab an empty envelope, preferably small square one and drop a few dry beans or peas in it.
Write "Magic Beans" on the envelope or "Miracle Legumes" (as Jim from The Office would call it for Dwight) and
wrap it in a gift wrap witb a nice ribbon. Expect a chuckle when this gift is open!
* Framed Picture Of The Boss
Here's an idea that will hopefully not get you fired. (Obviously this one applies to office parties.)
Take a picture of your boss (preferably from your company webpage) and print it out at one of the instant
photo kiosks. Frame it in a cheap dollar store picture frame and voala, you have a uniue gift that people
will either hate or love but will definitely make them laugh.
Additionally, you can do this with the picture of the most annoying employee in the company. Toby comes to mind when it comes to Dunder Mifflin :)
* Framed And Signed Picture Of Yourself
If above option is not really an option for whatever reason, why not do the same with your own portrait? This can work for
family gatherings as well. Someone who cares about you might fight extra hard to get her hands on that picture of yours.
* Old Software Disks
Do you have that old Windows 95 installation CD? You can even get some old software disks for a dollar on Ebay. AOL dialup internet
trial CDs also come in mind. Go nits, the worse and older the disk, the better.
* Jar Of Someting Pickled
There's just something funny about getting a jar of pickles for Christmas. If you can find something more unusual, for example pig feet,
then that makes it this gift so much worse, or should I say better?
* A Lottery Ticket
It's just a few bucks, and it's not exacly DIY, but a lottery ticket offers more than just a chance of winning. It's the excitement of
finding out if you won. Just be clear that if the recepient wins, you expect your share of 50/50! Scratch tickets are most fun in this scenario
because whoever gets away with it can scratch it on the spot.
* A Chocolate/Candy In A Gadget Box
Take a box of some interesting or expensive gadget, like a tablet, smartphone or something else that people are familiar with, and stuff it with
candy or chocolate. Do not wrap the gift in gift paper, let the box be the wrapping. You may cover it with a ribbon though.
* One Of A Kind Rock
Print out a fake letter of authenticity that claims that a rock in the cardboard box is "One Of A Kind". (Which it is.) Place it in a carboard box
and surround it with enough newspaper inside the box so that the rock does not easily move in the box when box is shaken.
* Prank CD
Record a few white noicse or nature sounds onto a CD, but label CD as "100 Farts" and wrap it in gift wrapping. Even if noone will want it, the curiocity
will force the owner to listen to what's inside.