gift ideas

White elephants are gifts, too! And these are sure to garner some good laughs and—dare we say—actually be useful. White elephant gifts are central to white elephant exchanges, also known as Yankee swaps or Dirty Santas. The objective of the game is to entertain rather than gain.

The term "white elephant" itself is a reference to a glitzy but ineffectual gift that's hard to get rid of. It originates from a legend about the King of Siam who was rumored to gift rare albino elephants to courtiers with whom he was not pleased so that they might be financially ruined by the cost of maintaining the flashy pachyderms.

Today, we play a much more lighthearted version--plotting someone's financial ruin seems a bit extreme. Here are our 10 best, not-so-terrible picks for funny white elephant gifts, all under $30.

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