Author: Tiffany Champion
The origin of the White Elephant gift exchange is said, according to legend, to have originated from a tradition wherein the King of Siam (now Thailand) would “gift” rare, sacred white elephants to courtiers he disliked, in order to burden them with the animals’ prohibitively costly upkeep under the guise of a great honor. While this is a romantic etymological explanation for what we now know as a playful contest to exchange fun and silly gifts among friends, coworkers, and family, the lore has since been debunked and proven to have no basis in actual fact. Even though the gifting of real white elephants never actually happened, the concept itself has modernized over the years and is sometimes even called by other names like Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa. Whatever you want to call it, just know you’ll need to think outside the box — since you won’t know who the recipient is, this is not your ordinary gift guide! 😉
Keep reading for a roundup of tried-and-true suggestions for less than $100.
If you’re not familiar with the game, brush up on some rules and guidelines here:
Wax ON!
Candles? For a gift list? Groundbreaking! But actually, candles always make a great gift — and when you aren’t sure of scent, you can always go decorative. When it comes to playful and timeless waxworks, Italian candle company Cereria Introna is simply unrivaled. Family-owned and operated since 1840, the business has been handed down through four generations and is still thriving today. All the candles are made in Italy of food-grade paraffin wax and dripless, smoke-absorbing pure cotton wicks, meaning they can be burned, if you or your recipient can bring yourself to burn a handcrafted work of art. If you’re really dedicated to the bit, the best (and zaniest) selection is available from Cereria Introna’s site, but limited options are available from other stockists if you poke around. Let your imagination run wild!
Reading is FUNdamental
This Book Nook™ Reading Valet (whatever that means) crafted from acacia wood has everything: a triangle rest to mark your page, spaces for your phone or glasses, and best of all — a beverage rest for curling up with a Wynk and losing yourself in the pages.
Available exclusively from Uncommon Goods ($50).
Pick Up the Pieces
In the spirit of both IRL connection and inner-child healing, a jigsaw puzzle like these cute options from Pomegranate are a beautiful (and affordable) way to give our brains a break from the constant churn of texts, emails, and social media. When you finish, you can preserve it as a work of art with a coat of epoxy resin, or disassemble it to enjoy over and over again.
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
Is a giant match lighter necessary when a regular BIC will do just fine? Of course not, but this is a White Elephant gift guide after all, so if your mind is closed to whimsy, you’re in the wrong place. If your regular BICs tend to disappear faster than you can even say “BIC,” this lighter serves dual purposes as a conversation piece that’s simply too big to misplace. And once it runs out of fluid, refilling is a breeze.
$9.99, available (alongside so many other amazing gifts!) from Friends NYC.
I Got 5(mg) On It
Treat a lucky recipient to a Wynk Starter Pack — featuring 6-packs of classic flavors Juicy Mango, Black Cherry Fizz, and Lime Twist. Get an extra $15 off your order with code STARTER.
Weight! They Don’t Love You Like I Love You 🎵
Good sleep is essential for health. Did you know that roughly 1 in 3 American adults don’t get the recommended minimum of 7 hours? That’s a lot, so it’s a safe guess that at least one person in your White Elephant exchange pool has struggled with insomnia too. By applying gentle, equally distributed pressure, weighted blankets signal to our autonomic nervous system (the delicate network of nerves and nerve cells responsible for unconscious bodily functions like heart rate, digestion, breathing, and more) that it’s time to rest. As a rule of thumb, a weighted blanket should be about 10% of the user’s body weight, so for most adults, an ideal range is between 12 and 20 pounds. This cotton option from YNM Home is breathable, durable, and hypoallergenic. Better sleep is priceless, but you can score this blanket for $70 from YNM Home.
Juuust a Wynk
Not sure about someone’s tolerance? The 2.5 Wynk is an even subtler buzz in cute little cans. Classic Packs are priced at $64.99, but you can get $15 off and free shipping on your first order with code STARTER.
Drop a Line
One of the greatest experiences human existence has to offer is receiving expected — or unexpected — snail mail from a loved one. Can we bring that back? Give your recipient a jumpstart with a set of tasteful notecards from Papier. Since White Elephant gifts are anonymized, hold off on the customization options (or save the idea for a Secret Santa 😉).
A set of 10 is $33, and a set of 20 is about $66 (unless a sale is running), which is admittedly kind of steep, but we swear that these are very nice postcards — that will undoubtedly bring joy not only to whoever is lucky enough to get these instead of a pair of silly gag socks, but to whoever receives the mail. Win-win!
We recommend a gender-neutral option like these if your White Elephant pool is mixed, but if you’re exchanging gifts with the girls, this blush ribbon pattern is too cute.
Desk the Halls
A Newton’s Cradle…how retro! Invented by French physicist Abbé Mariotte over 400 years ago and popularized in 1967 by actor Simon Prebble, these classic desk decorations are named after the father of gravity himself, and niftily demonstrate the fundamental laws of physics. More importantly, they’re great entertainment to play with while you dissociate at your desk. This colorful contraption, re-imagined by designer Tara Ashe, is available for $55 from the MoMa Design Store.
Speak Up!
You know how whoever brings the speaker kinda wears the pants? Complete with a carabiner for security and easy access, the JBL Clip 4 is waterproof and dustproof, so it can accompany its new owner wherever they want to go — from the pool to the park and back. Available for $64.95 from JBL Audio.
The spirit of White Elephant gift exchanges is silly, but that doesn’t mean the gifts always have to be, and we’re all about putting the “fun” in “functionality.” Have fun and happy gifting!
