Great White Elephant Gift Ideas for Under $15

You have been invited to a White Elephant party, now what? Know first what you are getting into. A White Elephant gift exchange might also be called Dirty Santa or Yankee Swap. Most parties will have a spending limit set ahead of time, if not then ask the host for an approximate amount. Sometimes people buy gag gifts for these types of parties but I think that money is too tight and with the economy the way it is why waste money when you can give a creative gift, have fun and not have it be a waste of money. Once you have a ballpark idea of what amount to spend then you need to determine who you are buying for. Who will be at the party? Coworkers, church friends, is it a wide range of ages or all stay at home moms in their 30's? If most of the party guests will be women, here are ten ideas of gifts for $15 or less:

movie or coffee house gift certificate

candles

lottery tickets (a variety of $1.00 scratch offs are best)

box of chocolates

lip gloss

coffee mug

ornament

bathsoap

paperback book

book of postage stamps

If there will be a mix of men and women or mostly men some ideas for under $15 are :

Christmas tie

tire pressure gauge

air freshener for car

gloves

key chain

small multipurpose tool

flashlight

The fun thing about White Elephant parties is you never know what gift is going to be the most sought after. The last party I attended I brought as my gift a bottle of Christmas scented hand lotion and I came home with a pair of 99 cent strectchy gloves (I love 'em!) but the gift that kept getting stolen and fought over was a box of chocolate covered cherries that the giver bought at the local discount store for less than two dollars. You never know what will happen with a White Elephant party but they are always fun.