White Elephant Gift Ideas

Ever since my family decided to forego the annual gift exchange in lieu of a white elephant exchange, I have been hooked!  We only did it one year, but seeing my Great Aunt Ruth open up the package of “his & her” holiday thong underwear, made Christmas ten times better that year! 

I’ll admit, my first few years going to white elephant exchanges, I didn’t exactly understand what they were.  I was told that you re-gift something awful you were given.  I had no idea that it was so much more than that!  Basically, white elephant gifts are a crap-shoot!  The four main categories of gifts seem to be:

1. Funny--  Presents using potty humor, inside jokes, or pretty much anything from Spencer’s Gifts. 
2. Throwback--  My husband had an old Vanilla Ice VHS tape that we gave away once & I’m pretty sure the Regis Philbin workout video is still making the white elephant rounds!
3. Weird--  This category seems to be mainly made up of creepy looking Christmas angels, but at a recent exchange a friend brought women’s tights with fruits & veggies printed on them.
4. Good--  Something you never use, but think someone else might like or something you buy.  I have seen popcorn poppers, tool bags, & unused gift cards given.

If you’re not familiar with the concept of a White Elephant Exchange, participants are asked to bring an unmarked, wrapped gift, within a set monetary amount.  Once everyone arrives, gifts are placed in a designated spot & guests are given a number, that determine the order in which the presents will be opened. The person who choses number one will pick a gift & open it.  The next person can either choose to steal the gift from number one or open a different gift.  If number one’s gift gets stolen, they get to open another gift from the pile.  The game continues with each person selecting to either open a gift or steal a gift that has already been opened.  Usually, a gift can only get stolen three times & then it is frozen.  Once everyone has had a turn, the person who was number one gets the option to steal a gift.  When everyone has a gift, the game is over!

Now that we have all the boring information out of the way, let’s talk gift ideas! 



I took this simple gift to a couples exchange.  Basically, hot glue a condom onto a piece of paper that reads, “In case of miracle… break glass” & put it in a cheap frame.  I couldn’t resist buying a Dollar Tree pregnancy test, so I included that in the gift as well & taped on a paper that read, “In case of different miracle”.



Another easy gift to assemble is the “Gotta Go Emergency Bathroom Kit”.  I grabbed a pair of .98 underwear, flushable wipes, toilet covers, & tissue pack (Emergency Toilet Paper) from Wal-Mart.  I found the antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer, & cosmetic bag at Dollar Tree.  I made the No. 2 Spray & grabbed the rest of the items from our house (feminine products & rubber gloves).



I made this label (you can see the other side in the top photo) explaining what the contents were for.  Surprisingly, this gift was so popular it got stolen three times & frozen!  (I think some other people had White Elephant parties to go to!

My husband also had a popular white elephant gift.  He & some friends message each other through GroupMe.  On the app, you can easily make memes out of the pictures you post.  They joke around with each other, by creating memes out of pictures the other guys have posted.  Hence, he made a meme photo book.  These are mainly just inside jokes between the guys, but Mark did have to add a few new ones to fill up some pages.



The guys got a pretty big kick out of it!



So, what are some of your fun white elephant gift ideas? 

Decking the Halls

Growing up, every space in our home was decked out for Christmas.  Trees, garland, & Christmas lights filled nearly every room in our house.  My favorite part were the snowflakes my father hung from the kitchen ceiling.  My parents did a great job making Christmas a magical time for my sister & I.  My mother is a Christmas decorating genius, & her home & trees are always so beautifully decorated. 



Sadly, I do not possess this quality.  I think it all stems from my frugality when it comes to purchasing Christmas décor.  I would rather spend my money on decorations I can use all through the year, rather than just one month.  Every year, I think I will stock up after Christmas, but I never do.



It’s because of this, I have developed a “less is more” approach to Christmas decorating.



I adorn the mailbox with a small piece of greenery, throw some clear lights in the bushes, & place a DIY wreath on the door, giving the exterior some understated elegance.



Or at least that’s what I tell myself!



Inside, garland adorns the stair railings, along with clear lights & simple white bows.



I moved our nativity from the entry table this year, & replaced it with a bowl of small ornaments.





Around the house, ornaments are hung from coat hooks, drawer handles, & even light fixtures.









More ornaments used as tabletop décor in the living room…





and morning room.









I placed the nativity set on our new mirrored console, where we can see it more often.





A bowl of ornaments adds a little sparkle to the top of the console.



The mantel is pretty much the same as last year.







Here is a picture of our tree.  The kids fill it up with their homemade ornaments & I added what few ball ornaments were left after spreading them throughout the house.



I’m not going to pretend that I try to make it look good!  It doesn't even have a tree skirt!  How do you skirt a live tree that needs water every day?  I’m stumped!  (I wasn't even trying to be punny!)



You won’t find any beautifully wrapped packages under my tree either.  I tend to have a “less is more” approach with those too!  Simply wrapped with the recipients name penned in Sharpie right on the paper!  I don’t see the point in taking the time to adorn a package that is just going to get ripped to shreds in a matter of ten seconds.  Well, I guess it would be worth it if I could use them as décor leading up to Christmas, but I’m pretty sure a certain two-year-old would not let that happen!

So, that’s a wrap!  Do you go all out for Christmas decorating or do you also choose a simpler approach?  Where do you stash all the presents?  Do you keep them beautifully displayed under your tree or hide them in your closet under a bunch of blankets like me?  (Shhh…don’t tell my kids!) 

Linking to the 12 Days of Christmas Home Tours