25 White Elephant Gift Ideas Under $50

What is White Elephant? 

One of the most popular holiday party games is White Elephant. It’s a gift exchange with fun, amusing, and impractical gifts. The goal of a white elephant is pure entertainment in the hopes of getting the best gift.

Rules of White Elephant

All participants will bring their own wrapped gift (gift budget TBD). Participants will randomly pick a number to determine each turn of selecting a gift. The first person will choose and open a gift. The next participant will pick and unwrap a new present. They can decide to steal the other’s person’s gift or keep their pick. The participants will continue this until all gifts are selected. If a gift is stolen, the gift can only be stolen twice. In the end, the very first person who picked a gift has the option to steal anyone’s gift. The host of the party can set the rules and decide how turns are selected. Everyone will go home with a gift.

Did You Know?

The concept of the White Elephant party game started in the 1800s. According to Mental Floss, the King of Siam, which we all know now as Thailand, gave people he didn’t like a real white elephant. The reason for this is that they are difficult to get rid of and super expensive to care for. A white elephant was a respected symbol in both Thai And Buddhism cultures. So not taking care of the elephant or trying to give it to someone else would be deemed disrespectful. Now many years later, society has turned it into a fun party game.

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