PopSockets (Dragon Sterling)
You Can’t Escape the white elephant parties. My friend who hosts an annual white elephant is debating sending out an invite before October even begins, and my mother’s ornament-themed white elephant has split into two parties this year. On top of all your regular Christmas and holiday shopping, trying to pick a gift that won’t embarrass you at multiple gift exchanges feels like mental torture.
That’s because white elephant parties in particular present a unique challenge: Can you find a cool or funny white elephant gift within a set budget that a group of people—who are potentially strangers—will battle each other to take home? None of us want to be the person who brought the gift nobody wanted. Some folks bring joke gifts, some bring booze to be safe, and some gifts will feel like garbage to you but gems to others. Some of my favorite white elephant gifts include a coffee-pot-shaped mug, a fun Lego set, and sushi-shaped magnets. Here’s every white elephant gift I recommend bringing, ranging from quirky to cool to actually useful.
Looking for more gift ideas? Don’t miss our other awesome gift guides as the holiday season ramps up.
Updated October 2026: I’ve added new Lego sets, a cozy beverage set, and new e-reader case options, and checked to make sure everything else is still in stock.
Being a nerd isn’t as lame as it used to be, nor does it seem so weird to play Dungeons & Dragons like it used to, either. If you’ve got a few dungeon divers in your white elephant group (or maybe it’s a white elephant with your D&D party!) like I do, these Lego sets are a hit. My husband was the lucky last grabber for a white elephant gift that included three of these. They’re mystery bags, making it a fun discovery for the winner, and with 12 different designs you should be safe to buy a couple without doubling up on the model type. But even if you do, that’s something for the gift winner to discover and laugh about.
PopSockets (Dragon Sterling)
Maybe you’re headed to your book club white elephant, or maybe you’ve talked everyone into getting an e-reader this year. Maybe that’s just me, though. Either way, if you know there’s people with e-readers coming to your gift exchange, a cool new case makes for an easy win. PopSockets has an entire Kindle case line that has a lot of really cool and gift-worthy designs. This dragon sterling case is one of my favorites, and the black opaque base allows Kindle colors to show through or it can dress up the plain black Kindle models. It also has a built-in MagSafe ring so the winner can attach their favorite PopSocket Grip to it for easier reading—or you can include one for them. This one’s my personal favorite.
If your group is more of a Kobo club, I also really love Kobo's SleepCover cases ($40) that can prop the e-reader up thanks to the foldable portion of the cover. You might want to include a gift receipt so they can exchange it if you get the wrong size—Kobo has SleepCovers for both Libra and Clara models, but PopSockets’ cases only fit the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft.
Barnes & Noble
Everyone hydrates, so a drinking vessel is a safe gift all around. And most people drink some kind of caffeinated drink, whether it’s coffee or tea or perhaps an energy drink. This fun mug looks like a miniature coffee pot and can handle hot drinks. It even comes with a plastic lid so you can take it on the go. I like how comfortable the handle is to hold, and it’s just so funny to look at while still doing a great job holding my morning tea. The lid is pretty flimsy, so I usually just drink out of the glass top instead, but I still like that there is an included lid rather than none at all.
Jazz up someone’s fridge with adorable sushi magnets. They almost look a little too real—the salmon nigiri looks ready to eat—but are still fun to look at on a fridge. Every single visitor I have comments on how cute these magnets are. After two years of rocking these on my fridge, they’re all holding up strong.
While the magnets on the plastic rolls are small, they’re still plenty strong enough to hold up papers and children’s artwork on someone’s fridge without slipping or falling. I'd only put two corners of paper underneath one of these max since they’re not massively strong, and I usually put two magnets for each piece of art. I’m craving ikura just looking at them, and the foodies at your white elephant can battle it out for who gets to take these home and deal with the same cravings.
I’ll tell you right now: The Big Enter Supersized Key enter key is a little too much fun to have on my desk, and a great thing to bring for a white elephant with your coworkers, fellow work-from-home folks, or friends who are allowed to really decorate their cubicle. The punchable enter key’s function is simple: You punch it to hit enter. It connects to a computer via a USB cord, and is nice and responsive so you don’t have to punch it super hard. It’s a fun addition to lively Slack chats, or a secret way to be passive-aggressive without anyone knowing. Unless the winner of this supersized key has a cubicle partner. But that’s their problem—if they can manage to win in the first place during the game.
Diaspora Spice Co.
Diaspora Spice Co.
I have a lot of tea lovers in my various circle of friends, so this delicious cozy beverage set would be safe to bring to a myriad of white elephant parties. I have Diaspora Spice Co’s collaboration set with East Fork that includes the Masala Chai and Madhur Jaggery to sweeten it, and it’s one of the best cozy chais I’ve ever been able to make at home. Starbucks’ watery chai really won’t hit after a cup of this.
While I haven’t tried the Golden Milk yet, this set feels like something really delicious anyone could enjoy for the chilly months to come after the holidays. It’s a good price point for those $40 limits, too.
Barnes & Noble
I’m over gifting puzzles, and instead I’m gifting stylish paint-by-number kits this year. I’ve started on this pretty one from Galison—I’m two hours in and have likely two more hours to go, which surprised me. It comes with 12 paint colors and three brushes, and while I’d maybe include a few more brushes or some other painting accessory if the spending threshold is above $30, it makes for a great gift for your hobby-loving friend group.
Puffin (The Fleece)
Puffin (The Alpine)
Puffin (The Resort)
I’ve never been a big fan of drink cozies. They’re useful, of course, and I like packing them for a camping trip, but they’re usually a little ugly to look at. Enter: Puffin Drinkwear, which makes drink cozies that recommend our favorite outerwear layers. It’s like playing Barbie with your drinks—if Barbie were really outdoorsy. You might’ve seen these in Netflix’s Will & Harper, and I encourage you to give your drinks their own fancy names to match these sweet fancy jackets. My husband keeps stealing the Alpine puffy style for his daily energy drink, but he has yet to name it; instead he’s giggling about how fun it is to give his Red Bull a little hood to wear.
Grab a couple that best embody your friend group, whether they love their hoodies or their leather jackets, or even a spa robe that can wrap around a bottle of wine. The spa robe is my favorite, and that with a nice bottle of wine might become my new go-to white elephant for a group I don’t know well (or that I know loves wine!).
Chronicle Books
Finding a good group game is hard, especially one that can accommodate both small and large groups. The best one I’ve tried is Listography, which is designed for three to six players, but I’ve seen it successfully accommodate up to 10 people (but you’ll need to bring your own extra pieces for the board!). To play, one person will pull a card with a prompt—things like “states that border Canada”—and everyone needs to make a list of answers. How many things you write down and how obscure you want to get varies, since there are three different card styles and requirements for that round. There’s a board your group can move around, but my group of friends loves to use it without the board and instead just keep score for each person.
One of the white elephant gifts I fought for last holiday season was this set of iridescent glasses. It’s a pretty little set with a vintage vibe to it that works great for cocktails or even just a fun little glass of water. I was also excited that it came with a bottle of lychee vodka, and I’d definitely recommend including a bottle of something fun that makes for a fight-worthy set (and to help you hit the price minimum, if it’s higher than $25).
We’ve got a whole guide of gifts for sleep, but a bedtime accessory combo was my proudest gift last holiday season. I combined a weighted eye mask with a satin pillowcase for my mom group’s white elephant party, and it was a gift that was stolen until the end. This NodPod weighted eye mask is a popular and fairly affordable option, and might already hit the price window you want on its own. If you’re looking for a gift more in the $50 range, add on a pillowcase like this one from Kitsch ($20). It’s a great combo for sleep that your friends will be fighting for, especially if they’re sleep-deprived parents.
Look, I’m probably biased in thinking everyone’s home could be improved by smart lights. I test smart bulbs all the time, and love adding unique panels like the LIFX Beam (read our full review here) to spots in my home. But one of my favorite ways to add a ton of ambiance is with the help of an LED light strip. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill has tested a ton of light strips, and the Govee RGBIC is his favorite budget strip that should be within the range of most white elephants. Even with such a budget price, this light strip can still display a variety of colors, let you choose or create your own effects, and is easy to install.
Amazon (Roto Wipe)
Amazon (Baby Influencer Kit)
Amazon (Pudding Pouch)
Amazon (Earwax Candle)
Planning to wrap your white elephant in gift wrap? WIRED Reviews editor Kat Merck recommends stepping up your game and putting your gift of choice in a Prank-O-Box to really confuse and amuse your fellow white elephant attendees. They’re also a hit with kids, as her son loves wrapping his friends’ birthday gifts in these boxes. From the cat hat ($10) to the 12,000-piece puzzle box ($10), there’s a Prank-O-Box for everyone.
Nowadays Cannabis Infused Beverage, Starting at $40: Bringing a bottle of booze is a white elephant classic; my husband’s work team almost exclusively exchanges bottles of liquor as a safe bet for enthusiasm. I think you can do better, though, and bring a THC spirit instead. This spirit is light and a little fruity, sitting somewhere in between the flavor profile of a floral gin and a sweet sake. My friends and I tried it mixed into a pomegranate cocktail instead of tequila, which was fantastic, and we also loved it with seltzer as a THC twist on a gin and tonic. It’s delicious alone, too. I’d skip this for a work party or any group that might not be green-friendly, though.
Booze in general: This is always a safe pick! You could also bring a bottle of nonalcoholic wine if you wanted an option that everyone can have.
Something edible: As long as you’re in the loop on food allergies, of course. One of the best gifts I received at a Secret Santa was persimmon cookies, made in honor of my love for persimmon fruit. I think baking something delicious would be a fun option for a white elephant, too, especially if you’re someone who has sourdough starter in their kitchen or makes a mean banana bread (my version uses brown butter and Nutella, and it might be my gift of choice this year!)
Here’s what was the least fought over at the white elephant parties I attended last year, or the most inappropriate ideas our team has heard of:
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 it into a pile or central spot. Then, each person will draw a number that indicates their place in the gift-choosing 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 on how often a gift can be stolen—usually around three times—so if you have the best gift in your hands when it’s time for someone else to choose, there’s no guarantee you’ll get to keep it. If your gift is stolen, you can either unwrap a new one or steal someone else’s gift (no take-backs, sorry).
These rules can vary based on the host and their house rules, so make sure to ask what the rules are at the start of the game. Happy exchanging!
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Source: Wired
