Cheap or Free White Elephant Gift Ideas: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Every year on the last workday before our holiday break, our office would have the traditional holiday twosome: a potluck lunch that included everything from my co-worker Kathleen's tasty Jimmy Dean sausage balls to someone's corn concoction that I would never touch followed by, of course, a white elephant gift exchange.

In our office, the white elephant gift exchange wasn't an opportunity to which people looked forward to receiving nice, new fabulous gifts. No, it was more like a swap meet for unwanted items and "regifted" atrocities. There were a few good items thrown in the mix, too. And that's what made our white elephant gift exchange so much fun. As Forrest Gump said, "You never know what you're gonna get."

For those who share my enthusiasm for a white elephant gift exchange that includes a mix of items that can only be described as the good, the bad and the ugly, I have some white elephant gift ideas to share. But first, let me tell you a little about how a white elephant gift exchange works and offer some tips.

White Elephant Gift Exchange Rules and Tips

Rule: Each person who wishes to participate in the white elephant gift exchange must bring a present that is already wrapped.

Tip: People are drawn to fancy packaging, so why not disguise that half-used bottle of perfume that smells like rubbing alcohol that you're bestowing on some lucky white elephant gift exchange participant? Doll it up in a beautifully wrapped box with lots of ribbons and bows, and you've got yourself a sucker for sure.

Rule: Before the white elephant gift exchange begins, each participant draws a number out of a hat (or whatever receptacle is handy). This number indicates when each participant will take his turn at unwrapping a present.

Tip: It's better to draw a higher number so that you can select your white elephant gift as far into the game as possible. This is because of the next white elephant gift exchange rule.

White elephant Meissen at a porcelain museum.

Credit: Ingersoll, WikiMedia

Copyright: N/A (Public Domain)