The main challenge of White Elephant is to gift something with universal appeal, considering the nature of the game is that you don’t know who the gift recipient will be. And personally, when it comes to these kinds of organized gift exchanges, the spirit of giving rarely compels me to go beyond 20 or 30 smackeroonies. At the same time, I don’t want to come to the table with something lazy or unwanted. So, how do you find a popular gift that is somehow not boring, but also not expensive?
I’ve rounded up the best white elephant gift ideas that are all under $30 (so long as you’re willing to get a little creative with it). Even if the final recipient isn’t thrilled with their bounty, every idea here is decent enough to be re-gifted. And isn’t the ability to re-gift sort of like a gift in itself?