Top Ten White Elephant Gifts

It's about that time for White Elephant parties to start popping up!  I don't know about you, but I love going to White Elephant parties.  For me, the thrill of guessing just the "right" present and hoping that mine is traded and fought over is the best part.

Whether you are with close friends and can be a little more daring, or with a large group of co-workers, friends from church, or a mixture of kids and adults - there are inexpensive presents to be found all over.

The past 4 or 5 years we have been doing White Elephant exchanges with the students in the youth group I volunteer at and I have seen some pretty awesome gifts, but I thought I would create a top ten of my favorite gifts.  For budget's sake, I will keep my ideas around $10 which seems to be the standard these days.  This are in no particular order.

1. The Toilet package:  Everybody Poops and a toilet seat lid.  You should be able to get a gently used copy of the book for free.  For sanitary reasons, please get a new toilet seat!  This should really come as no surprise.  In our youth group- this WEG often reappears year after year to the amusement of our students, staff, and parents.  Surprisingly, people DO fight over this gag gift.
2. Gift cards: Who doesn't like a gift card?  Most people will prefer cards from Starbucks, Amazon, and iTunes, but don't disregard places like bigger box stores, restaurants, or even an ice cream shop.  Sometimes it's nice to take a little off your bill (dessert doesn't count when it's free, right?!)
3. The ABC Scrapbook: I put this together a few years ago for under $10 and it was quite the hit.  What is it you ask?  First you pick either the host, or a notable (I picked the youth pastor) person attending the party.  Then you spend some time sorting through their facebook photos and coming up with captions for each letter of the alphabet, saving pictures as you go.  After I collected my 26 photos I sent them to Costco for cheap printing, made a simple scrapbook, and wrapped it.  Some of the photo's included: A: Afro Justin (photo of him wearing a 3 foot tall afro wig); B: Basketball playing Justin (him playing bball with some students); C: Cooking Justin (photo of him cooking at camp); D: Daughter of Justin (his daughter); and so on and so forth.  The funny part was when a student stole it from Justin and refused to give it back. 
4. Date Night: Include $2 for a Redbox rental, a tub of microwavable popcorn, and some candy from the dollar store.  Easy peasy and a wonderful treat for couples.
5. The Christmas Pickle: Help a family start the tradition.  You can get the ornament for a few bucks at Target.  You can find information on this fun tradition  here.
6. Cat toys: I few years ago at the farmer market/flea market by my house I found a cat toy that became quite the hit at the WEP.  It was a plastic ball, run off of batteries with a raccoon-like tail attatched to it.  To this day I am not sure why this random object was so popular, but it sure made people laugh!
7. Toys from your childhood: Etch-a-Sketch, View Finder, or an Easy Bake oven (you can usually find this on Black Friday around $10-$15)- these toys bring back memories and let you relieve a little bit of your childhood.
8. Mustache's: I wanted to include this since they are so popular.  Mustache mugs, cookie cutters, mints, corksrews, the list is endless!  Put together a little package full of mustache mania and people off all ages will be sure to enjoy this gift.  Don't forget a stick-on mustache as well!
9. Money: fill a jar with pennies depending on your exchange limit.  Teens who like money will be happy, regardless of the denomination of the money.
10. Left-handed goodies:  The three lefties at your party will sure appreciate the thought and the rest of the crew will get a chuckle out of left handed sciccors, pens, notebooks, can-openers, or whatever else you can find!

Happy White Elephant Gift hunting my fellow enthusiasts!