White elephant gift exchanges are all about the thrill of the steal, the roar of laughter, and that one gift everyone fights over.
I made a list that goes from funny gag gifts to some really practical things, and will work for both work gift exchanges and home parties.
If you want an idea better than a pack of batteries with a toy not included or Big Mouth Billy Bass, go throw the list of white elephant gift ideas I’ve curated for this holiday season.
Apple Peeler & Corer
This gadget peels, cores, and slices apples like a pocket chef — perfect for bakers and saves time when you make apple pies! Weirdly satisfying to watch, too, and can be totally useless for someone who hates apples, so they will want to get rid of it at the next white elephant!
Mini Waffle Maker
This tiny Dash waffle maker can make one personal waffle in just a few minutes. It’s the silly white elephant gift for waffle lovers and anyone who collects (hoards) quirky kitchen appliances.
Hand Warmers
A no-brainer for gift exchanges during the holiday season, as it does get pretty cold! Hand warmers can be more classy and techy or very cute, so pick budget ones (there are plenty under 50 USD) and see if people will fight for them.
Murdle Book
Murdle got so popular that there are three (or maybe even more now!) books in the series. It is not a Sudoku book for those 60+, it is a book for crime show lovers, where you get to investigate murder cases while following along with detectives’ travels.
The book is super funny, too! There are easy riddles, but eventually, it gets pretty challenging.
Hot Chocolate Kit
A must for a sweet tooth during the Christmas holidays.
Homemade chocolate always fills the kitchen with sweet aromas, and it is my drink of choice for snuggling on the sofa, rewatching Christmas movies. It will be a hit at the gift exchange!
Blanket With Sleeves
These blankets with sleeves are taking over social media this year. Everyone loves them!
It is a perfect way to be all wrapped up but still be able to use your hands freely to wash dishes, read, knit, or relax on the couch watching TV shows during the holiday season.
The blanket will be stolen first, for sure!
Home Fire Extinguisher
Everyone needs a fire extinguisher – no one EVER remembers to actually buy it. So smart homeowners will try to steal it from each other at the White Elephant exchange.
If you don’t want to gift the actual fire extinguisher, a fireproof blanket is another great gift, especially for families with kids.
Bendable Neck Reading Light
This quirky neck-hanging LED light lets you read, knit, or craft in bed without waking your partner or getting up to switch lights on and off. Amazing!
For under 15 dollars, it’s the perfect white elephant steal for bookworms.
Desktop Vacuum Cleaner
A tiny vacuum cleaner for the desk will make a great idea for a white elephant gift exchange at work. And you can pick one that looks too cute or fun to be considered as a serious appliance, like this ladybug-looking vacuum!
If you want to make it more of a gag gift, do not include batteries.
Lightswitch Cover
Seemingly useless item, but if someone from your friends circle is obsessed with interior design, they may want to steal it.
Well, depending on what you go with – a fun one or a really cute cover design (Amazon has some really good ones and just as many hideous!)
Mini George Foreman Grill
A little fancy gift for someone you really like – portable mini-grill! A few years back, I didn’t even know such a thing existed ( I am used to old school grilling and smoking).
This mini George Foreman grill cooks two burgers or sandwiches fast and will work perfectly for small spaces or camping.
Food Dice Decider
The perfect gift for anyone who never knows what they really want to eat tonight. It can make a date night out a bit more fun and surprising, too – let the dice decide what you are having.
Those dice are also cheap enough, so you can gift a few.
Karaoke Mic
Karaoke lovers will try to steal this gift for sure, but better to be certain they don’t live next door, if you know what I mean!
There are some mics that even come with voice effects and simply connect via Bluetooth to the TV and speakers. The whole thing works on batteries and will last long enough so everyone at your party has a chance to belt out their favorite song.
Power Cutter
Surprisingly, this is one of the popular gifts at White Elephants!
Basically, these are heavy-duty electric scissors that can cut through anything – crafters and DIYers love them, so it can be quite a useful gift idea.
Yeti Mug
A gift with less personality or fun, but often very welcome at any party, work, or home – a small Yeti mug (to keep it on a budget).
A 14-oz cup is great for camping and sipping, made of stainless steel and comes with a lid. A cool thing is that they come in so many colors, from mint to chocolate.
Lego Flowers
In the past few years, Lego stopped being associated with just toys for kids. They now have a full product line that targets adults with their botanical collection being simply fantastic – so elegant and tasteful, and will never die off!
You can choose bonsai, roses, but what I like most are mini orchids (they are also under $25).
Sleep Bar
Sleep bars are flat speakers you can put under the pillow to have white noise as a background to help to fall asleep. Some people may not even realize that they need one!
Lottery Tickets
Fun and affordable gift for holiday exchanges that is fun and makes you feel like a child scratching those tickets hoping for a big win, then laughing all together at how silly that hope was.
If you want to prank your friends, you can even buy fake lottery tickets on Amazon. A perfect add-on for these tickets would be a scratcher tool.
Hot Sauce Gift Set
A set of extra hot sauces will be a curse for those who can’t even handle ginger or a blessing for anyone who loves Asian or Mexican food.
Cute 1.7 oz mini bottles come in a gift box and look like a gift already!
Xmas Sweater
Choice is yours – it can be that “ugly” goofy reindeer-on-a-bender sweater or truly a nice one, or even custom-made! A big plus is that most of them are unisex and have rather free sizing, so you won’t have to worry about who gets it.
Mug Warmer
I guarantee many steals for this item – a mug warmer is essential for winter. It keeps your tea, hot chocolate, or coffee hot while you’re working, cooking, or prepping the house for the holidays.
It also costs less than 15 dollars, so it won’t hurt your pocket.
Drink Cozies
Drink cozies offer pretty much endless gift ideas – it can be a cozy bathrobe cozy for a wine bottle, a cute Christmas sweater cozy for beer cans, artsy cozies for teapots, and even old-fashioned crochet ones!
Reusable Film Camera
Remember Polaroid? Nowadays they are back in fashion! People use them a wedding activity, let kids take photos of the day in their lives, and share moments with friends.
Definitely a nostalgic gift an older holiday crowd will appreciate.
Gingerbread Man Christmas Soap Pump
Super cute gingerbread man soap pump dispenses not just soap but holiday cheer! It’s the absurdly adorable white elephant gift that’ll have everyone giggling. Steal-worthy but absolutely impractical outside the holiday season.
Pocket-Size or Portable Games
Bananagrams, Tabletop Mini Bowling game, card games like Unstable Unicorns, UNO, or Exploding Kittens, creative games like Telestrations, or strategic ones like Catan or Munchkins – the choice is amazing, and you can get them at book stores or Amazon.
Tortilla Blanket
Year after year, tortilla blankets are one of the most “stolen” white elephant gifts at any party. It is fun, but it is also very practical!
Pasta-Shaped Pot Grips
These fun pot grips look like colorful bowtie pasta, yet still are functional, making it easy and safe to grab hot pots and pans without burning your hands.
Adorable white elephant gift for your friend who loves cooking. Prep a pasta pun to go with the gift 🙂
Not a pasta fan? There are also grips shaped like crab claws or jaws.
Andy Warhol Puzzles In A Can
A set of three Campbell’s cans that are not filled with soups but with art puzzles with famous Andy Warhol works! A creative gift idea for modern art lovers and anyone who collects quirky things.
The Nessie Family Kitchen Tools
The OTTOTO brand has hundreds of stinking cute kitchen gadgets and small appliances that everyone needs, but most of us didn’t even know existed.
The Nessie family colander, ladle, and tea infuser are colorful, fun, and look just like a lake monster!
Browse their store, they have heaps of things like a ninja cutting board, a rhinoceros knife sharpener, Dracula garlic crusher, and the list goes on!
Bath Wine Glass Holder
Taking a bath is a luxury in the world of self-care, and for busy moms or working overtime women, it can also be the only place you can read or quietly enjoy a glass of wine – just like in the movies.
To make it feasible, you need this waterproof glass/can holder that sticks to the wall and makes sure you are not making a mess.
Collapsible Popcorn Bowl
With this collapsible bowl, you’re ready for movie nights and sleepovers any time! You just load it, microwave popcorn, enjoy it, and then off it goes to the dishwasher. Easy holiday gift idea for under 10 bucks.
Shakespearean Insults 2026 Day-to-Day Calendar
If you want to laugh till tears come out, you gotta have this collection of insults written in Shakespeare-style – all must be pronounced to imitate the old ways of pronouncing English words.
The perfect gift for teachers, book lovers, and someone who has everything.
Warmies Stuffed Animals
These heatable and weighted plush toys you can warm in the microwave are loved by kids and adults. When you are sick, stressed, or even just lonely.
They have an array of animals to choose from for under 30 USD, from capybara to colorful crabs and hedgehogs.
Bug-A-Salt Fly Shooter
If you have men at your white elephant gift exchange, this is a grown-up man toy they will fight for. A laser gun to hunt down insects and bugs with salt. No fly will dare to visit your house.
A good salt rifle can cost almost 50 dollars, though.
“As Seen on TV” Themed Gift
An in-car sauce holder? Cup cozy pillow? Flex Seal spray that seals leaks in seconds or Magic Mesh doors that snap shut behind you—are hilariously over-the-top fixes for everyday problems.
All these little trinkets people pitch to Shark Tank often make their way to popular marketplaces, and you can easily buy them (often for quite cheap, too!).
Set of Throwing Knives or Ninja Stars
Get one of those cosplay-ready sets with throwing Shuriken ninja stars and knives made of plastic or foam (so no one can get hurt) and have fun trying to aim and shoot!
It can turn into a fun activity among friends or even a competition.
Marshmallow Gun
A marshmallow gun should come with a bag of marshmallows, of course, and will make a perfect moment of laughter when someone is trying to shoot a marshmallow in the air and someone else is trying to catch it without using hands – only mouth!
Label Maker
A portable label maker will be a huge hit at work, a white elephant, especially if there are people obsessed with home organization! Everything will be sorted, stored, and labeled. No more loose socks or jars with unidentifiable something in your house.
Reusable Toilet Paper
These eco-friendly bamboo toilet paper sheets come in a roll holder that you wash and reuse, ditching single-use wipes for a greener (and slightly weirder) bathroom routine.
They’re the ultimate white elephant gag gift for the friend who’s all about sustainability but will crack up at the idea of hand-washing their TP! On a practical side, this set is said to replace 3,000 (!) regular toilet papers.
Santa Bubble Butt Machine
At any Christmas gift exchange, there should be one bubble machine with Santa, period! No matter the age, people won’t help but laugh when they see it, and if they still hold themselves, make sure to demonstrate how it works!
Ugly Sweater Christmas Slippers
The topic of Ugly sweaters is still very much alive, and the themed slippers only add to it!
I honestly found quite a few really cute ones with Grinch, fun slippers with turkey legs, and some really questionable design choices, too…
Baguette Throw Pillow
The oversized, realistic baguette pillow will be the perfect match for anyone who has a tortilla blanket! To be fair, if you love long pillows, this baguette one is quite comfy, too.
‘Nachosaurus’ Bowls
Now iconic bowls for tortilla chips, nachos, and crackers, these dinosaur-shaped bowls also fit the Christmas gift frenzy. The set has a dinosaur bowl for chips and a round plate for dips. Practical but impossible to fit any interiors 😀
Desk Dumpster Pencil Holder
Your colleagues or workaholic friends need this! A pencil holder that looks like a genuine dumpster with flame-shaped note pads and a section for pens and paper clips.
Fun Cookie Cutters
Not the cute holiday-themed cookie cutters, but the ones that will make people cry laughing or get very embarrassed (there are naughty cutters too!!)
Just a few crazy ideas: cookie cutters shaped like a pickle with a Santa hat, pregnant womb, leg lamp, kitty butt, middle finger, or Ninja.
Funny Windshield Sun Shade
Star Wars, raccoons, “What Is Love” iconic trio – top three most popular, and fun, windshield sun shade you can gift to car owners this holiday season.
Apart from being hilarious, this item is indeed useful and keeps cars cooler during crazy heat.
Horse Head Squirrel Feeder
Unnecessary gift, but absolutely steal-worthy at the next White Elephant. It is basically a simple feeder, but the fact that it fits inside this humongous horse head just makes it so fun!
There are also feeders with spinners – watching or filming how squirrels are trying to get to the corn on it will make your videos viral on social media.
A Phone From the 90s
Imagine someone pulls that old Siemens or Motorola, or unbeatable Nokia? It will be the first item to be stolen, especially if you have millennials in the group.
Go for the black and white one that doesn’t even connect to the Internet. But it does have the Snake game!
Charger for Batteries
A speedy battery charger like this revives AA and AAA rechargeables overnight with smart LED lights and a simple plug-in design, great for keeping remotes, toys, and gadgets powered up.
Great, affordable white elephant gift for the tech lovers and people who try to “go green”.
World’s Smallest Violin
If you are looking for a perfect and totally useless gift that is just meant for white elephant, this is it! World’s smallest violin. Probably the worst 7 dollars you ever spent, but it will definitely be an unforgettable gift at your party.
But wait, there is more. It is actually a keychain, and it DOES make sounds.
Instant Meat Thermometer
Something really useful in any kitchen is an instant meat thermometer, so you can make sure chicken or a leg of lamb is actually fully cooked.
It will either be stolen first or it will be left behind if you get a crowd of foodies and savvy home cooks.
Candle Lighter
To show you have a “lifestyle,” you can own a special tool to light candles for $10. The beauty is that they are windproof and use electric impulses, not flame, to light your candles.
Mini Vending Machine
Perfect for a family with kids! Tiny vending machines can dispense jelly beans, candy, or mini toys. They don’t last very long, but make a unique and fun gift.
Wool Dryer Balls
Two options here: just plain wool dryer balls to annoy someone or cute ones that look like animals or anime characters (Whooly Heroes brand makes incredibly adorable dryer balls!)
Emotional Support Crochet Dumpster Fire
For a white elephant gift for colleagues or working friends, this gift idea is usually a big win. Crochet toys have recently gotten new life with people using them to create “emotional support” and adding affirmations to the designs.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my favorite White Elephant gift ideas! Whether you’re shopping for something funny, practical, or just plain unexpected, I hope this list helps you find the perfect pick. After all, the best part of the game is seeing which gift everyone’s trying to steal — so go ahead and bring the one that’ll keep the whole room laughing!
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