Regardless of if you’re new to the White Elephant world (hint: it’s an anonymous present exchange where stealing is encouraged) or you’re a seasoned pro, you’ll need to put some solid effort into ensuring your gift adds the right amount of pizazz to the pot. Think about what you want to bring to the table. Is it a ridiculous gag gift? An elegant accessory? Something actually useful?
Once you’ve decided on the type of present you want to get, it’s smooth sailing because we’ve collected some of the best White Elephant gifts in a range of categories below. These items are sure to lock you in as champion of the exchange—because offering the most coveted present at the table might just be sweeter than receiving it.
Best for Plant Lovers: Decorative Refrigerator Magnets - Cactus
Best for Selfie Stars: Auxiwa Clip-On Selfie Ring Light
Best for Pet Parents: Awkward Family Pet Photos
Best for The Group: These Cards Will Get You Drunk
Best for Snugglers: RAINBEAN Burrito Tortilla Blanket
Best for Clumsy Wine-os: Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Remover
Best for Sushi Fans: Rainbow Socks - Men's Women's - Sushi Socks
Best for Artists: You F*ing Got This: Motivational Swear Words Coloring Book
Best for Stargazers: Mydethun Moon Lamp Moon Light Night Light
Best for Foodies: Dash Mini Waffle Maker
Best for Working From Home: Casper Snoozewear Blanket Robe
The Best White Elephant Gifts
Best for Plant Lovers: Decorative Refrigerator Magnets - Cactus
Key Selling Point: Twelve tiny-yet-mighty magnets are included in this adorable set, which serves as a useful kitchen product without requiring plant-parent care.
TabEnter’s Cactus Decorative Refrigerator Magnets make the best white elephant gift for plant lovers—and also for those with no plant-parenting sense whatsoever. Since gifting a real plant would require time and effort to keep it alive and well, these magnets are the perfect alternative. The set includes 12 magnets ranging from 18 to 26.5 millimeters. While the size is tiny, they hold up in their strength and durability, allowing users to pin notes, artwork, or other memorabilia in style. Plus, they are designed with no-scratch protection and will leave your surface as good as new upon removal.
Best for Selfie Stars: Auxiwa Clip-On Selfie Ring Light
Key Selling Point: Social-media-obsessed friends will be able to step their selfies with this clip-on ring light, which offers soft illumination that gives every photo a studio-esque feel. Making this our pick for the best white elephant gift for selfie stars.
Auxiwa’s Clip-On Selfie Ring Light comes complete with a rechargeable battery and 36 long-lasting LED lights. Simply use a USB charger to give it some juice when needed, and snap away. The lights have three settings—low, medium, and high—so you can match your environment. Use it day or night, on the front or rear cameras of your phone, or even as a handy flashlight. Plus, it weighs a mere 1.5 ounces, making it very accessible and easy for you to stow in your bag and clip on to your phone when the picture-perfect moment hits!
Best for Pet Parents: Awkward Family Pet Photos
Key Selling Point: From the New York Times-bestselling authors that brought us Awkward Family Photos, this book is focused on families and couples and the most important stars of the photos: their pets, making it the best white elephant gift for pet parents.
We all have one or two friends whose relationship with their pet(s) is… odd… to say the least. So, the fact that MSNBC describes Awkward Family Pet Photos as “hilariously awkward” seals the deal for a prime white elephant gift for *those* pet parents. It’ll bring out big laughs from all types of readers in no time. And at 8.2 inches in height and isn’t too thick at 176 pages, it will make a fun addition to the coffee table.
Best for The Group: These Cards Will Get You Drunk
Key Selling Point: If your friend group likes drinking and games, look no further than the best white elephant gift for groups. These Cards Will Get You Drunk, a hilarious and super simple card game that requires you to draw a card, follow the card’s rules, and drink.
Ideal for those 21 and older who love hosting a game night, this card game is an absolute winner. If you’re looking to round your group of friends for some chaos and bacchanalia, These Cards Will Get You Drunk is the way to get the party started. The game can be played with 2 to 8 players, features over 100 dynamic cards, and also has expansion sets available. Plus, the rules are so insanely simple, you won’t have to worry about *that* friend who never can seem to play by the rules. All you have to do is choose a card, read the card, follow the instructions, and see who has to drink. While you can pick any drink you’d like, do make sure that all members drink responsibly!
Best for Snugglers: RAINBEAN Burrito Tortilla Blanket
Key Selling Point: The RAINBEAN Burrito Tortilla Blanket is a ridiculous yet super practical gift for those days when all you want to do is lay in bed like a tightly wrapped burrito.
The RAINBEAN Burrito Tortilla Blanket is the white elephant gift for snugglers. Made with 71 inches of top-notch flannel fleece, the burrito blanket is both soft and warm. Use it indoors rolled up on the sofa, outside as a picnic blanket, or just show off your humor with your fellow burrito-loving friends and family. It’s lightweight and machine washable, making it easy to clean after using. And at under $25, this gift is well-priced for something that's both hilarious and entirely useful in its warmth.
Best for Clumsy Wine-os: Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Remover
Key Selling Point: The Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Remover is fast acting, works on all types of stains and fabrics, and is safe and non-toxic.
This white elephant gift for the uncoordinated wine drinkers, a glass of red can be extremely dangerous. That’s where the Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Remover comes into play. This spray bottle is unscented, nontoxic, and free of phosphates, peroxide, chlorine, sulfates, and parabens. The professional and commercial-grade formula is pH neutral and tough on wine but perfectly safe on clothing, rugs, and furniture. The 4-ounce bottle is very affordable and is a great size to toss into a bag for spills on the go or to keep stored away near a precious white carpet. Plus, the packaging is adorable and mimics what an actual bottle of wine looks like!
Best for Sushi Fans: Rainbow Socks - Men's Women's - Sushi Socks
Key Selling Point: Wrapped up as the cutest nigiri set you’ve ever seen, you’ll get two pairs of comfortable socks in the colorful shades of Salmon Nigiri and Cucumber Maki.
Sushi lovers will freak out from a cuteness overload when they open up the Rainbow Socks - Sushi Socks Box, which features two pairs of socks wrapped up as if they are nigiris themselves. These socks are unisex, made from 80 percent cotton, and are made with shades and designs replicating the classic Japanese delicacies of salmon nigiri and cucumber maki. This gift combines a lighthearted joke for those who indulge perhaps too often in sushi, with an incredibly practical gift, because, who doesn’t need more socks? These socks are made from high-quality production spaces out of Central Europe and are OEKO-TEX certified for safety. The set also includes an [empty] soy sauce bottle perfect for storing soy sauce or the like!
Best for Artists: You F*ing Got This: Motivational Swear Words Coloring Book
Key Selling Point: This coloring book is an artistic outlet designed to help calm down even those with the most intense sailor’s mouths.
Adult coloring books are a great way to release stress and anxiety in a fun and creative way. The You F*ing Got This: Motivational Swear Words Coloring Book takes this idea to the next level. Motivation meets raunchiness in this 60-page book, where swear words are sprinkled in with ever-so-classic motivational sayings. This coloring book makes a great white elephant gift for those who love to be creative, whip out the colored pencils but have a good cathartic laugh while doing so. Plus, it’s just a few bucks!
Best for Stargazers: Mydethun Moon Lamp Moon Light Night Light
Key Selling Point: Stargazers will appreciate how this aesthetically appealing night light lamp has been created to mimic the moon’s appearance based on NASA images.
This white elephant gift combines functional home decor with science. The Mydethun Moon Lamp is made from a 3D printer modeled after moon images on a 2D map. It features LED lighting, dual colors, and a rechargeable battery that lasts between 8 and 10 hours at a time. There are two dimmable color modes: bright white light and warm yellow light, which allow you to choose the level of brightness you want with just the touch of your finger. The lamp is made from PVA materials, is 5 volts, and 1 watt. This moon lamp will add an extra layer of elegance and awe to any room, so think about buying this gift for those looking for creative ways to add light to their rooms, those who are baffled by the beauty of the moon, or anyone else with interests that lie in between.
Best for Foodies: Dash Mini Waffle Maker
Key Selling Point: While the Dash Mini Waffle Maker may be compact, it packs in all the typical power of a regular-sized machine, leaving you with safely made and incredibly delicious waffles.
Simply put, the Dash Mini Waffle Maker is a *chef’s kiss* and will serve as the best white elephant gift for foodies. The product comes in a few colors, including a fun White Pineapple print. This waffle maker features a nonstick surface for easy cleanup, a recipe guide (hint: you can waffle more than just waffles), and comes with a one-year manufacturer warranty. At only four inches, it can be stored essentially anywhere. All you have to do is plug it in, wait for the indicator light to tell you it’s hot enough, and pour the batter in. The design’s easy-to-lift handle ensures hands will stay safe, and the non-slip feet ensure that there will be no slippage and the waffle maker will stay stable when cooking.
Best for Working From Home: Casper Snoozewear Blanket Robe
Key Selling Point: How about a quilt that forms to your body? This pick from Casper is a robe and blanket in one, and what’s comfier than that?
Casper is also the name of a friendly ghost, and you’ll look like an especially comfy ghost in the Casper Snoozewear™ Blanket Robe, which brings some chic to the cozy blanket-robe market. This is a duvet-as-robe, with a 100 percent cotton exterior, and a 100 percent poly interior. It folds over you with large wide sleeves and features a robe-styled open front and thick pockets that will hold all your entertainment accessories. Casper is a well-respected brand when it comes to luxury home goods, and the Snoozewear Blanket Robe lives up to the company’s overall reputation.
This is a robe made for Vermont winters when the lynxes come padding from the woods and the snow falls onto the frozen lake, but it’s just as good for NYC apartments when the landlord won’t come to fix the broken boiler in the basement. Your movie nights will be cozier, and you might even find yourself sitting in the backyard on January days working from home. Whatever your locale, when you need comfort, look no further than Casper Snoozewear’s swaddling robe.
How to Win this Year’s Best White Elephant Gift
This year, don’t wait until the last minute to get your white elephant gift. Or if you do, don’t settle in getting something mediocre. White Elephant is meant to be a joyous occasion where friends, family, and colleagues can laugh at what amazing things can be gifted for very reasonable prices. That said, it can get competitive… It's always fun to come equipped with what you feel is the best of the best. This list features products that are cute or funny AND useful. This combination is key when buying the best white elephant gift, because you’ll know the receiver won’t just toss it after a week, but rather they will use it for plenty of time to come!
This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurism’s owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.
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