6 Fun (and Practical!) White Elephant Themes for Your Next Gift Exchange
Setting the theme for your White Elephant, Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa gift exchange is a critical piece of the planning! Sure you can have it be a free-for-all (a ‘no theme’ theme if you will). Those are lots of fun! But what if you want to mix it up, and force more creativity by setting some restrictions? Or maybe you want to encourage gifts that people will actually, you know, want to keep after the game is done.
Here are 6 ideas for White Elephant themes that are both fun and practical
#1 Booze
Let’s get this party started, right? Assuming everyone in your White Elephant imbibes on occasion, having a booze-themed gift exchange can be a lot of fun! It’s best if you push people to think outside the box. Maybe get beer from your local brewery, or gin from a regional distillery. Try to find small-batch versions of popular whiskies. Get some sake, some mezcal - whatever you fancy! You can also limit it specifically to “Wine”, which in itself has endless brands, vintages and price points for people to get creative with. No matter what you do, no one will really end up a ‘loser’ in this White Elephant theme.
#2 Board Games
There has been such an explosion of board games in the past 10-20 years that this theme offers a ton of options for players to express their individuality. Maybe someone will bring something a little raunchy like Cards Against Humanity or What do you Meme. Others may bring a ‘new classic’ like Settlers of Catan. Or your group can dive into the classic classics: Monopoly, Scrabble, Pictionary. And after the gift swap is over, you’ll have no shortage of activities to play next!
#3 T Shirts
It seems like choosing a White Elephant theme specific to one type of article of clothing may be too limiting, but there is no shortage of novelty T Shirts. They can be snarky (“Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to come”), they can be silly (“Hedgehogs. Why don’t they just share the hedge?”). They can be retro (think: classic Beatles or Nirvana shirts). You could even have a custom t-shirt made for pretty cheap! The options are endless, and everyone leaves with a memory they can either wear proudly or toss in the back of their closet.
#4 Mugs
Similar to T-Shirts, there are a million mugs out there, making it a surprisingly fun White Elephant theme. They can have silly memes on them, they could be handmade, they could be ornate and pretty. The other great thing is: who doesn’t need another mug in their collection?
#5 Books
Do you know why Amazon started by selling books? Because there are so many of them, it was the perfect product category to build around. We think the same is true for your White Elephant exchange! Whether it’s a romance novel, a self-help book, classic literature or a graphic novel, everyone has a favorite book that they can bring to the table (literally). What a fun way to expand your horizons!
#6 Ornaments
This is the perfect theme if you want something more Christmas-y. Like all the other categories, what’s great is the diversity of options you have for ornaments. It’s also a nice option if you want a lower price point gift exchange. Don’t worry, if you end up with an ornament you don’t like, there’s always that spot in the waay back of the tree where no one will really see it.
For more great White Elephant, Dirty Santa and Yankee Swap theme ideas, check out our other post: 5 Classic Themes for your White Elephant Zoom Party.