White Elephant is a holiday party classic for a reason. It's easy to understand, gives everyone something to talk about, and usually produces at least a few memorable steals along the way. But if your team has been doing the same gift exchange year after year - or you're organizing one for the first time - you may be looking for ways to make it feel a little more interesting.
The good news? You don't need to reinvent the game. Sometimes a simple theme, budget, or twist is enough to give a traditional White Elephant exchange a completely different personality. After helping hundreds of thousands of people participate in White Elephant exchanges, we've seen just how differently teams can make the tradition their own.
Here are some of our favorite White Elephant gift exchange ideas for work.
Planning a White Elephant exchange for work?
Make it easier with our free Workplace White Elephant Planning Kit. You’ll get a planning checklist, invitation and reminder templates, a rules worksheet, and a day-of host cheat sheet.
💵 1. Pick a Specific Price Point
Setting a clear budget is one of the easiest ways to make a White Elephant exchange run smoothly.
Common price limits include:
Under $10
Under $20
Under $25
Under $50
A lower limit tends to encourage funny or creative finds, while a slightly larger budget opens the door to gifts people may genuinely compete to take home. Whatever amount you choose, communicate it clearly so everyone is shopping with roughly the same expectations.
😂 2. Make It a Funny Gift Exchange
Sometimes the goal isn't to find the most useful gift. It's to find the one that gets the biggest reaction.
Ask everyone to bring something funny, ridiculous, unexpected, or just slightly unnecessary.
Think:
Strange desk accessories
Novelty kitchen gadgets
Unexpected home decor
Funny mugs
Silly games
Just remember that workplace humor should still be workplace-appropriate. The best funny gifts are ones the entire group can laugh about without putting anyone in an uncomfortable position.
🏆 3. Make It a "Most Stealable Gift" Exchange
Instead of encouraging gag gifts, challenge everyone to bring something people will actually want. The goal?
Bring the gift that gets stolen the most.
This small change can completely alter the energy of the game. Suddenly people aren't just trying to find something acceptable within the budget - they're trying to out-shop their coworkers.
Popular categories might include:
Cozy items
Useful gadgets
Games
Food-related gifts
Desk upgrades
Everyday luxuries
You can even give a small prize or bragging rights to whoever brought the most-stolen gift. If you’re looking for gift ideas for your exchange, be sure to check out our White Elephant Gift Idea Generator. Or - if you’re using White Elephant Online to play your game, you can use the integrated WEO Gifting.
🏠 4. Try a "Something You'd Actually Use" Theme
White Elephant has a reputation for producing plenty of silly gifts, but there's no rule saying the presents can't be useful. Challenge participants to bring something they would genuinely be happy to receive themselves.
This could include:
Reusable drinkware
Cozy blankets or socks
Kitchen accessories
Small tech gadgets
Games
Desk accessories
You still get all of the stealing and strategy of traditional White Elephant - just with gifts people are more likely to take home happily.
📍 5. Go Local
For teams that live in different cities or states, ask everyone to choose a gift that represents where they live.
That might be:
A regional snack
Something from a local maker
A hometown specialty
A small item associated with their city or state
This works especially well for distributed teams because the gifts naturally start conversations about where everyone lives. It turns the exchange into both a game and an opportunity to learn something new about your coworkers.
🍿 6. Pick a Foodie Theme
A food-focused White Elephant exchange is relatively easy to shop for and works across a wide range of budgets.
Participants might bring:
Gourmet snacks
Hot sauce
Interesting seasonings
Coffee or tea
Chocolate
Kitchen gadgets
Specialty foods
If your workplace has employees with allergies or dietary restrictions, make sure those are considered when setting the theme.
🧸 7. Have a Cozy Gift Exchange
If you're holding your exchange during the holiday season, lean into winter. Set a theme around things that make cold days a little more enjoyable.
Think:
Blankets
Slippers
Candles
Mugs
Tea or cocoa
Puzzles
Books
It's simple, seasonal, and broad enough that participants still have plenty of room to get creative.
🎲 8. Make It Game Night
Ask everyone to bring something that could make a future game night more fun.
That could mean:
Card games
Party games
Puzzles
Trivia games
Mini tabletop games
Game-night snacks
This can be especially fun for teams that already enjoy games or regularly host social events together.
♻️ 9. Host a No-Buy White Elephant Exchange
Not every gift exchange needs to involve buying something new. For a more sustainable - and potentially much funnier - version, ask everyone to bring something they already own but no longer need.
The important caveat: it should still be something another person might reasonably want.
Think unopened gifts, books, home goods, games, or that perfectly good kitchen gadget someone somehow ended up with two of. The unpredictability can make this version especially entertaining.
🎨 10. Choose a Color or Category
Sometimes the simplest themes are the most fun.
Give everyone one broad shopping rule, such as:
Everything must be red
Something for your desk
Something cozy
Something you didn't know you needed
Something that makes you laugh
Something for a weekend
Something under $15
A loose category provides enough direction to make shopping easier without making everyone's gifts feel identical.
🕵️ 11. Keep the Gifts a Mystery
Part of the fun of White Elephant is not knowing what's underneath the wrapping. You can amplify that by asking participants not to reveal what they've brought before the exchange.
For virtual exchanges, gifts can be represented without immediately revealing who selected them, allowing participants to make decisions based on the gift itself rather than the person who contributed it.
Mystery makes every selection, and every steal, a little more interesting.
🌎 12. Host a Virtual White Elephant Exchange
Your coworkers don't need to be in the same room to participate. A virtual White Elephant exchange can bring together employees across offices, states, or even countries while keeping the stealing, surprises, and friendly competition of the traditional game.
The key is removing as much logistical friction as possible so participants can focus on the fun rather than keeping track of turns, gifts, and steals.
If your team is remote or hybrid, we've put together a complete guide to hosting a virtual White Elephant exchange.
🎁 Need Help Choosing the Gifts?
Once you've chosen the format for your exchange, there's still one important question:
What should everyone bring?
That's where things get interesting.
The best White Elephant gifts tend to sit somewhere between surprising and genuinely desirable. They're the gifts that make people laugh when they're revealed - and then immediately start plotting how to steal them.
If you need inspiration, use our White Elephant Gift Idea Generator to browse ideas based on your budget and the kind of reaction you're hoping to get.
Browse thousands of gift ideas with just a few clicks.
🎄 Make the Tradition Your Own
There isn't one "right" way to host a White Elephant exchange. That's part of what has helped the game remain such a popular workplace tradition. Some teams embrace ridiculous gifts. Others compete over genuinely great ones. Some set elaborate themes, while others simply establish a budget and see what everyone brings.
After years of helping teams host these exchanges, one thing we've learned is that the best traditions are the ones teams make their own. Choose a format that fits your group, keep the rules simple, and leave plenty of room for surprise. That's usually where the fun begins.