White elephant gift

  • Thread starter Thread starter mariam1976
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mariam1976

Guest
i have been invited to a xmas party today which will mostly consist of singles… wondering whatwould be a good white elephant gift??
i was thinking one of the wallflowers from bath and bodyworks… does that make sense…
can someone give any better ideas…

i also will be taking potato salad for the potluck… does that sound good…

any advice would be greatly appreciated
 
its a gift that people bring for no specific person…
they keep it in a pile and then people just pick based on numbers given out
 
Are there only going to be women there? If so, your gift is great.

Or will there be men too? Your idea is still okay but probably wouldn’t appeal to a man.

Is this the kind of party where you pick a gift and keep it or is it one where you can steal/trade gifts?
 
guys will be there too…
can u suggest something else?

i dont know if there will be stealing involved…will be more fun that way…
 
mariam1976 said:
its a gift that people bring for no specific person…
they keep it in a pile and then people just pick based on numbers given out
Click to expand...
ahhh, thanks! I have never heard it called that before.
If you are looking for gender-neutral gifts, then I would look towards things like chocolates/candy, christmas ornaments, specialty coffe/teas, calendars, movie passes/gift certificates, gift certificates to movie rental places, scarves/mittens…
Malia
 
mariam1976 said:
great answer!!!
wow you are good!!! THANK YOU…👍
Click to expand...
If you were responding to me, then you’re welcome:)

I’m sure I could think of more, but that’s a start. And it comes from the experience of being on the receiving end of “white elephant” gifts that have been far from useful and some have been downright pieces of poo, lol.

A good rule is to not buy something that you wouldn’t be happy taking home with you. But, on the flip side, don’t buy something that is specifically to your own taste that not everyone could appreciate (like a man picking the gift that hapens to contain the newest shade of lipstick you have been dying to try;) )

malia
 
yes i was referring to you Feanaro’s Wife…

any more ideas… i asked for movie passes at the theatre that we generally go to… but they only give 10$(seems too cheap) or 25$ too expensive…

planning on tea/coffee… anything else you can think of?
 
mariam1976 said:
planning on tea/coffee… anything else you can think of?
Click to expand...
That sounds good! You could include a couple of holiday/winter themed mugs and have a very nice gift.

I’d be happy to receive such a gift. I love hot caffeinated beverages. 🙂
 
i bought the coffee… but no mugs… does that matter?
anyways… too late now to buy anything else as i gotta go…

got potato salad too…
 
If I recall the term white elephant gifts refers to a gift given to Pres. Abraham Lincoln by the then King of Siam (don’t know if he was the same one that Anna met in the play) of, yes, a white elephant, which was a very precious gift not only because of the rarity of such an animal, but because only the king could own one. Abe thought, nice gesture, but where in the world are we going to keep it? I imagine it went to a zoo and lived in great dignity but I don’t know.

so know a white elephant gift is something one person might prize highly, but another person may not appreciate at all, and some parties that have a “white elephant” gift exchange expect participants to bring something they have been given, that has no value to them, but might be considered valuable or desireable by someone else. sometimes there is a draw from the hat, or sometimes a game is involved. You draw a number, you can either choose one of the unopened gifts, or you can take an opened gift from someone else, and they take an unopened gift. this game can be pretty hilarious, and a good ice breaker (do I need to explain that term?)
 
Oh, how about a Chia Pet? I know it sounds corny, but one year when I was involved with the same kind of Christmas, someone brought a Chia Pet. We all laughed so hard and I actually brought it home. :rotfl: Unfortunately I attempted yet again at developing a green thumb, but that darn brown thumb of mine just came out again, so the “Chia Head” that I had ended up being just the head and no hair.
 
LOL… My dad bought my uncle a glass milk jug shaped like a cow, with the udder and everything. It was funny. You should go to Big Lots… They usually have weird stuff.
 
We are doing a “White Elephant” gift exchange at our Christmas party this year. But we don’t go out and “buy” something. The idea is to try and find something around the house that you don’t use, has been given to you maybe, and won’t cost you any money. It can be alot of fun! Random, weird stuff is the best!
Usually what happens is a few people WILL bring something kind of nice and covetted - and the rest is junk! So the nice stuff gets stolen alot and people get stuck with the rest.:eek:
 
LovedForever said:
We are doing a “White Elephant” gift exchange at our Christmas party this year. But we don’t go out and “buy” something. The idea is to try and find something around the house that you don’t use, has been given to you maybe, and won’t cost you any money. It can be alot of fun! Random, weird stuff is the best!
Usually what happens is a few people WILL bring something kind of nice and covetted - and the rest is junk! So the nice stuff gets stolen alot and people get stuck with the rest.:eek:
Click to expand...
I always thought white elephant was something kooky - not something nice like the Bath & Body works idea, so to the OP… I’d check with the host.

If it’s really “white elephant” - I agree… search your house. I once took a Furby (annoying stuffed animal type thing that never shuts up) … another time I took a “Greatest Polka Hits” CD… loads of fun! We bought a small above-ground pool for our kids. It came with an instructional video… that would make a GREAT white elephant. See… the more wacky the better.
 
carol_marie said:
I always thought white elephant was something kooky - not something nice
Click to expand...
Me too. I once got a huge blow-up candy cane as a white elephant gift. I like the idea of it actually being a relatively inexpensive, nice gender-neutral gift though! Who needs more junk in their house anyway?
 
There was an old garden gnome statue at a party I went to. He was the hit of the party.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top