White Elephant Gifts are in Your House - Don't Spend Money!

I absolutely love White Elephant gift exchanges--they give me the opportunity to "upcycle" some of the interesting / tacky items I have received throughout the year. The first cardinal rule of White-Elephanting is: do not spend money! Pocket your change and start searching through rarely-opened spaces in your house. The hunt is almost as much fun as watching the recipient 's reaction to your gift! For the White Elephant rookies, the skeptical or the creatively challenged, here are some ideas straight from the recesses of my own home:

1. Half-burned candles

2. Empty grocery bags tied up with a bow

3. The scary ornament your aunt gave you a few Christmases ago. (Just make sure she will not be at the party.)

4. An old ACE bandage--not nasty, just old and maybe stretched out

5. A never-used Christmas tin

6. An old man's tie--the wider, the better

7. A deck of cards with a few missing

8. An outdated calendar

9. Nubby pencils

10. Anything else you have been saving and cannot really explain why

The most fun comes the next year when your gift re-appears at the next annual White Elephant Party!