What is a good white elephant gift under $10?

Something the whole room finds funny: a storybook starring the host or the office favorite, an absurd hot sauce, or a card game. Funny and specific beats expensive.

What is the difference between white elephant and Secret Santa?

In Secret Santa each person buys for one named person. In a white elephant swap gifts are anonymous and can be stolen, so a gift has to appeal to the whole room.

White Elephant Gift Ideas People Actually Fight Over

What a white elephant exchange is

A white elephant exchange is a party game in which everyone brings one wrapped gift, and players take turns either opening a new gift or stealing one somebody has already opened. A gift can usually be stolen only a set number of times, so the good ones move around the room before they settle.

What makes a gift get stolen

Everyone can see why it is funny the moment it is opened.
It works for more than one person in the room.
It looks like more thought went in than money.
It is small enough to carry home.

Ideas under ten dollars

A storybook starring the host, or the office favorite. One photo, and a twelve-page illustrated story starring that person. Everyone knows the person, so everyone wants the book. More on this one.
A very good hot sauce, the kind with a ridiculous label.
A card game the group has not played.
Fancy socks, only if they are genuinely absurd.
A single excellent kitchen tool, such as a proper peeler.

Ideas under twenty-five dollars

A cozy blanket, the most stolen gift at almost every swap.
A board game for four or more players.
A small plant that is hard to kill.
Two storybooks: one for the host, one for whoever steals it.

Wrapping a digital gift for the party

A digital gift still needs something to unwrap. Print the storybook PDF, roll it with a ribbon, and tuck a card inside with the private link. The paper is what gets stolen; the link is how the new owner reads it later. Our guide to printing the PDF covers paper and binding.