The white elephant exchange is a fixture of December: at the office, among friends, at family gatherings. Everyone brings one wrapped present. Nobody knows who will end up with it. Half the presents are forgotten by January.
The best white elephant gift is the one people steal from each other. This guide explains what makes a gift like that, and suggests some at each price limit.
How the game works
Rules vary, but the usual version goes like this.
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift, within an agreed price limit, and puts it in a pile.
- Players draw numbers to set the order.
- The first player picks a gift from the pile and opens it.
- Each player after that either opens a new gift or steals one that has been opened. A player whose gift is stolen chooses again.
- A gift can usually be stolen only two or three times. After that it stays where it is.
- Often the first player gets a final chance to swap at the end.
It is also called Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa. The name comes from an old story about a king who gave rare white elephants to courtiers he disliked. The animals were sacred and could not be put to work, and the cost of keeping one ruined its owner. So a white elephant came to mean a burdensome gift.
Funny or good?
Find out which kind of exchange it is. Some groups want joke gifts. Others want things people would like to have. Ask the organiser.
If you don't know, bring something that is both: a real, usable gift with some humour in it. A gift that is only a joke gets a laugh and goes in a drawer. A gift that is funny and useful gets stolen.
What makes a gift people keep
- It suits anyone. You don't know who will get it. Avoid anything that depends on size, gender, age, diet or a particular hobby.
- It is useful or good to look at.
- It looks worth more than the limit.
- It is fun to unwrap. The whole room is watching. A gift that makes people laugh or say "oh, I want that" wins.
- It is small enough to carry home.
- It is safe for the setting. At work, keep it clean.
Ideas by price limit
Prices are approximate, at the time of writing.
Around $10
- A button pin, about $6. Give two that go together and you are still under $15. Pick one funny and one handsome. The Laser Cat pin, a fluffy cat with beams of light coming from its eyes, is made for this game. See button pin sizes explained.
Around $15
- An acrylic keychain, about $15. Everyone has keys or a bag. Choose a design with wide appeal: a nebula, a fox, an owl, a city skyline. See bag charm stacking.
- A small poster, from about $14. Roll it and tie it with ribbon.
Around $25
- A desk mat, from about $21. This is the strongest choice at this limit. Almost everyone at an office party has a desk. It is useful, it looks good, and it is a size and shape nobody will guess from the wrapping. Space and landscape designs suit the widest range of people. See desk mats for work.
- A medium poster of something funny or striking.
Around $40 to $50
- A large desk mat, about $40.
- A tapestry, from about $30. Big, colourful and dramatic to unfold in front of a room.
- A small canvas, from about $42. A real piece of wall art at a white elephant exchange stands out. Laser Cat on canvas is a gift that is funny and worth keeping.
See also gifts under $20 and holiday art gifts by budget.
Designs that suit a mixed crowd
- Cats. Popular with nearly everyone, and funny. See Laser Cat and art for cat people.
- Space. Hard to dislike. Light Nebula, Astronaut in the Clouds.
- Calm landscapes. Blue Mountain Fog.
- Friendly animals. Blue Fox in Space, Frost Owl.
- Your city, if everyone at the party lives there. See Chicago skyline art.
What to avoid
- Clothing. You can't know the size. Made-to-order clothing can't be exchanged, but you can return it within 30 days of delivery (you pay the return shipping).
- Skulls and dark themes at a work party, unless you know the group.
- Anything rude, political or religious.
- Very large items. Someone has to get it home on the train.
- Inside jokes that only one person will understand.
- Things from your own cupboard that are plainly used. Regifting something new is fine in this game. Regifting something worn is not.
Wrapping
Half the game is choosing from the pile, so the wrapping matters.
- Disguise the shape. Put a pin or a keychain in a larger box with tissue paper.
- Roll a poster or a desk mat in a tube or a gift bag. An odd shape draws attention.
- Wrap it well. A neat, attractive parcel gets picked first.
- Don't sign it. The giver is meant to be unknown, at least until it is opened.
Order in time
This is the part people forget. Everything we sell is made to order, and it can't be bought the day before the party.
- Allow 2 to 7 business days for production and 3 to 7 for US delivery.
- For a party in mid-December, order by the end of November.
- For delivery before December 25 in the contiguous US, our last recommended order date is December 3.
See holiday order deadlines. If you have left it too late, see missed the gift deadline: what to do.
If you are running the exchange
- Set a clear price limit and say whether gifts should be funny, useful or either.
- Give people two or three weeks' notice.
- Agree the stealing rules before you start. Three steals per gift is common.
- Bring a spare gift for the person who forgot.
- Keep it kind. Nobody should go home with something that embarrasses them.
The short version
Bring something useful, good-looking and a little funny, that suits anyone and fits in a bag. At $10, a pair of pins. At $15, a keychain. At $25, a desk mat. At $40, a small canvas or a tapestry. Order it three weeks ahead.