White elephant parties present a unique challenge: Can you find something either cool or funny enough within a set budget that a group of people—who are potentially strangers—will battle to take it home?
If you’re headed to your first white elephant gift exchange, here’s a quick explainer on what’s about to happen. Everyone will bring a wrapped gift (often under a certain price, like $25) and place them into a pile or central spot, and then each person will draw a number to see the order. When your number is called, you can either choose and unwrap a gift from the pile, or steal one that has already been unwrapped by someone. Most exchanges will have a limit of how often you can steal one gift—usually around three times—so if you have the best gift in your hands, there’s no guarantee you’ll get to keep it. If your gift is stolen, you can either unwrap a new one or steal a different gift (no take-backs, sorry).
The real thrill comes from finding something great in a pile of who-knows-what. Some folks bring joke gifts, some bring booze to be safe, and some gifts will feel like garbage to you but gems to others. Here are some gifts I recommend bringing, ranging from quirky to cool. There’s something in this guide too for every potential price cap.
Looking for more gift ideas? Don’t miss our other awesome gift guides, including Best Gifts for Under $30, Best Gifts for Cold People, Best Gifts for Moms, and Best Gifts for Outdoorsy People.