30 Crowd-Pleasing White Elephant Gifts Everyone Is Going to Steal (2024)

FAQs

How does stealing work in white elephant? ›

A gift can only be “stolen” once during a turn. If a gift is taken from someone during one round, she cannot take it back during that same round. She can, however, take it back in a later round if she is in a position to select a gift. A gift cannot be immediately stolen back from the player who just stole it.

A white elephant gift exchange, Yankee swap or Dirty Santa is a party game where amusing and impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities. The goal of a white elephant gift exchange is to entertain party-goers rather than to gain a genuinely valuable or highly sought item.

“There [are] some things that you can't go wrong with in general: beeswax candle sticks, pretty stationery, a box of chocolates, lottery tickets, a small bottle of rum if it's the right crowd to give alcohol to,” Smith says. “There are certain general things that can make for really fun gifts.”

Apple AirTag

Everyone will be so jealous of whoever receives this AirTag. With so many uses, this practical (yet super impressive) gift will help everyone keep track of their belongings via their iPhone. It's especially useful for jet setters.

White Elephant is a party game in which players bring wrapped gifts at a set price, such as $20. From there, they draw numbers and pick the gifts out one by one from the pile. They also have the option to steal. The catch is you won't know what is in your package until after you pick it out.

After all players have had a turn, the first player gets a chance to swap the gift he or she is holding for any other opened gift. Anyone whose gift is stolen may steal from someone else (as long as that person hasn't been stolen from yet). When someone declines to steal a gift, the game comes to an end.

The person with #1 starts the game. The game begins once #1 selects a gift from the pile (after much thought and deliberation, of course), opens it, and shows it to everyone. The person who drew #2 then goes and has the option to steal #1's gift (aka "Dirty Santa") or pick a different gift from the pile.

A present can only be stolen once per turn, which means players who have a gift stolen from them have to wait to get it back. After three swaps, the turn automatically comes to an end (otherwise things could drag on for a long time).

White Elephant Rules

Once everyone is assembled, have each person draw a number. The person with number "one" chooses a present to unwrap. The person with number "two" has a choice: They may choose a new, wrapped present, or they may take the unwrapped present from the first person.

A: Though these gifts are typically campy and useless, you can get creative with White Elephant gift ideas that are fun and functional. For instance, a fun card game, a set of cute fridge magnets, a throw blanket shaped like a tortilla, or a candle that smells like the opposite of FOMO.

Is it OK to give a gift card as an white elephant gift? ›

The white elephant gift is not supposed to be ordinary. That generally means no gift cards, nice clothes, or common home goods. The more unusual or garish, the better! The present should be wrapped, bagged, or otherwise obstructed, so you can't tell what it is before opening it.

At a family gathering, you can expect to spend $20 or more on your white elephant gift. These kinds of gift exchanges may take place of gift-giving that would typically happen. As long as everyone can afford it, it's okay to spend a little more on your family.

Some of the best White Elephant gifts are those that are both totally practical and completely silly at the same time. This puzzle is a perfect example.

White elephant gifts should be goofy, yet desirable enough that someone would want to steal it. Trust us. It makes it more fun! Think one pound of HERSHEY'S KISSES candies.

If you're looking to exchange gifts with friends or family and want an emphasis on personal gifts, then Secret Santa is the way to go. However, if you're looking for a fun and memorable experience that you can laugh about the rest of the year, White Elephant is absolutely the way to go.

All the gifts are pooled. Guests take turns to choose one to unwrap. Or they can choose to “steal” a gift already opened by someone else. The person losing their gift then gets the same choice: open a wrapped present or steal someone else's.

The general idea of the game is this – everyone brings a gift (or multiple gifts) and the gifts get passed around the table based on the roll of the dice until all gifts get unwrapped. As soon as all gifts are unwrapped the game is over and everyone goes home with whatever gifts they ended up with.

The name “White Elephant” stems from the (likely untrue) legend that the King of Siam (Thailand) would gift white elephants to punish courtiers who displeased him.

If you're looking to exchange gifts with friends or family and want an emphasis on personal gifts, then Secret Santa is the way to go. However, if you're looking for a fun and memorable experience that you can laugh about the rest of the year, White Elephant is absolutely the way to go.