Make it funny, make it strange—just not totally useless. Here are White Elephant gifts that get a laugh and actually get used.
It’s that time of year again, your schedule now booked with office Christmas parties, neighborhood powwows, and family gatherings, which can only mean one thing: White Elephant season. You know the rules by heart; show up with something strange, funny, and, ideally, gloriously impractical.
The tradition’s apocryphal origin goes back to the King of Siam (Thailand), who supposedly punished a courtier by gifting him a sacred white elephant. The gift seemed glamorous, but here’s the catch: the animal was breathtakingly expensive to maintain and couldn’t be sold or put to work. In other words, it was a beautiful, financially ruinous burden—an insult disguised as a gift.
And so the White Elephant exchange was born, though our tradition carries less vitriol. The ritual has random givers bestowing ridiculous presents on random recipients who either laugh (because they’re good sports) or quietly facepalm at the thought of owning something they’ll probably never use.
It’s all fun, but why put objects to waste? We can still have funny presents without them being incredibly ridiculous. Here’s a list of White Elephant gift ideas that uphold tradition while still being quite usable.
READ ALSO: For The Bookworm: A Very-Specific Holiday Gift Guide
Quirky Kitchenware
Any kind of kitchenware is about as practical as you can get during gift-giving season. Add a silly design or twist to it, and you have yourself the perfect White Elephant present. This Duck-shaped egg separator, for instance, is simple and gets the job done—yet it’s also endearingly disgusting. Sure, you can separate the eggs with nothing but their shells, but where’s the fun in that?
Statement Mug
You can never have enough mugs, especially if you’re always hosting or having people over. Funny or cute statement mugs are always a hit (unless your giftee lacks whimsy), and they won’t have to gather dust in a corner. Some trending designs include those with animals in the middle: fill them up with your beverage of choice, and it looks like they’re indulging in a nice soak. Or just go the tito-humor route and get a regular mug with a ridiculous statement printed on it.
Card Games
Who doesn’t enjoy a good card game? It’s the gift that keeps on giving, especially if it’s one made to be played with a large group of friends. In the spirit of White Elephant, choose something kind of weird but still fun to play. “Cards Against Humanity” is a classic choice, but there are plenty more that are a little less mainstream. “Fiction” is a great guessing game for the word nerds (think Wordle), while “Hey Yo” is a rhythm-based music card game that’s nice for big groups.
Novelty Socks
Everyone needs a good pair of socks—and novelty ones, for all their silliness, can actually make a great fashion statement when paired with simple, neutral outfits. They come in every design imaginable, so you’ll have no shortage of options. Choose a pattern that balances goofy and cute, so your giftee won’t be too embarrassed to wear them outside the house. ICONIC produces some pretty adorable designs, from flying pigs to bacon and eggs.
Bluetooth Karaoke Microphone
Not that we’re stereotyping every Filipino, but most won’t complain if they got a portable karaoke microphone for Christmas. It’s just the right amount of “what the hell” random while still being, oddly enough, something a giftee can enjoy using. Worst case scenario, they can at least have something to bring out during parties for the friends who do like a good sing sesh.
Weirdly-Shaped Scented Candles
There are scented candles, and then there are weirdly-shaped scented candles. Some you won’t show mother (we didn’t include them in the listicle, but if you’re holding a White Elephant with a group of crude-humored pals, why not?), and others that are just adorably silly. They keep spaces fragrant while eliciting some laughter (all the more when they start melting and looking even stranger)—we can’t think of a more fitting White Elephant present than that.
