The Best White Elephant Gift Ideas Under $25
Kick off the holiday season with one of these LOL-worthy gifts you can grab for less than $25.

There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned white elephant gift exchange to kick off the holiday season with a smile. As a refresher, a white elephant gift exchange is a gathering that involves presents that are highly impractical, amusing and generally random. No high-end or pricey presents are allowed, and the more comical the gift, the better. Presents range from tame and cheeky to escort-children-from-the-room finds.
We're playing it safe without sacrificing humor with our PG-13 white elephant shopping guide. From life-changing (but completely random) kitchen tools to shady Santas and luxurious latrine fragrances, we’re sharing our picks for the best white elephant gifts under $25.
This cheeky design is a winner for the bird-watching enthusiast in your life or anyone who likes to start their day with a hot cup o’ humor. Each mug boasts a flock of illustrated birds labeled with their colorful names. Notable characters include the bearded tit, red-billed oxpecker, the blue-footed booby and the small-but-sprightly American dickcissel.
And here we have the gift your grumpy friend (or grandparent?) never knew they needed. The cozy sweatshirt comes in three stylish hues and features a graphic phrase that pretty much speaks for itself.
Will your desperate-to-be-a-grandparent mother be excited when she unwraps this quippy candle? Probably not. Will the rest of your family share a good laugh when she does? No doubt. Pro tip: Throw in a big hug to offset her disappointment.
The color-changing toilet seat light will be the unlikely standout at your gift exchange this year. The curious gift transforms midnight bathroom trips into a color-clad journey with your choice of eight vibrant light hues: red, purple, pink, baby blue, green, yellow, orange and white. Throw in festive toilet paper rolls to round out the gift.
Trim their tree with a glittery hard seltzer ornament in their favorite flavor. Keep it under $25 with the boozy bauble alone, or include a six-pack of the same hard seltzer to bring the gift full circle.
Give your work wife a safe space to vent when you’re not available for a quick coffee run or walk around the office. The journal comes with 100 blank pages for them to unleash their frustrations. Bonus: It costs under $8, so you can splurge on a pack of their favorite pens to complete the gift.
You know the friend who’s always making stressful business decisions? Dial down the pressure and encourage them to let fate take the wheel on their next big deal — literally. The Office Answer Wheel may not offer sound advice or enhance their strategy, but it adds a punchy retro flair to their otherwise bleak cubicle, so what do they have to lose?
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a woman who doesn’t get a kick out of this book. Men to Avoid in Art and Life features a slew of (beautiful!) classical fine art captioned with all-too-familiar examples of mansplaining and sexist remarks.
Oof. If there was ever a year to have emergency wine on hand, it’s this one. Snag this playful survival kit wine bag and fill it with a cheap-but-effective bottle of vino for a failproof gift this holiday season. Alternative suggestion: Skip the wine, fill the bag with coal and call it a day.
Famous, sharp-tongued literary lights point their poison pens at each other in this snarky chart of great writer-versus-writer put-downs. The jabs span the centuries and include Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Noel Coward and many more, arranged by theme.
Bring the joy of ugly sweater parties to their dining room table with this delightfully tacky holiday sweater puzzle. The 1,000-piece puzzle will provide hours of much-needed tech-free entertainment, and they’ll look forward to putting it together for years to come.
The key to any healthy relationship is open and honest communication. This interactive notepad makes a wonderful white elephant gift because it fosters that open communication through a series of passive-aggressive checkpoints and fill-in-the-blank sections. Pro tip: Elevate your gift with a pack of mechanical pencils, pens or scented markers.
Gift your grumpiest friend or family member this poignantly named candle for the holiday season. The Angry Elf Candle is handmade and boasts a punchy mix of evergreen, red currant, citrus and rose that will linger for hours after burning.
Your white elephant gift exchange is no place to offer flowery sentiments of support and encouragement. Your white elephant exchange is the place to serve snark with a smile, and this jolly Santa mug checks out. Fill the festive mug with a $5 gift card or a single coffee pod for a well-rounded gift.
The grass gauge is a cheeky gift for lawn aficionados and, ahem, unmotivated landscapers. The recycled steel design inserts into the soil and serves as a visual tracker to keep up with how much one’s grass grows over time. It’s considered handy to some and passive-aggressive to others, but that’s really none of your concern, is it?
Punny-meets-practical with this cheeky slate coaster. Each coaster is handmade and sold solo or in a set of up to eight coasters. The laser-engraved design comes with your choice of nine snarky quotes to best suit your recipient’s personality.
Ah, the cooking utensil they never knew they needed — a fishing pole-inspired tool to roast two marshmallows and a hot dog in one fell swoop. Round out the gift with a package o’ franks dressed for the occasion with a shimmery holiday ribbon.
This tea towel seems wildly appropriate, as we’ve been asking ourselves this exact question all year. Your white elephant gift recipient will love the towel’s cheeky seasonal motif, and your wallet will adore the under-$15 price tag.
Every friend, family or coworker group has at least one procrastination pro in their ranks. This blunt desk plate pretty much speaks for itself.
This mug is a mood. Stuff it with a few airplane bottles to spread a splash of holiday spirit amongst your exchange group. Sambuca is our top suggestion (it is a coffee mug, after all), but bonus points will be awarded for shots with peppermint, cinnamon or butterscotch flavoring.
File this breakfast sandwich maker under random but life-changing. This nifty device cooks the perfect egg, meat and cheese sandwich in four minutes. Buy the genius invention for the white elephant exchange and snag a second for your own kitchen.
An adult coloring book complete with an imbibed llama, rooster and a giraffe? We’ll drink to that. The whimsical coloring book costs less than $10 and includes refreshing cocktail recipes on each page.
With winter on the horizon, we guarantee everyone will be jealous of this gift. Think of this wearable fleece blanket as a stylish Snuggie. It'll keep your recipient nice and cozy during discovery+ binge fests.
And, finally, the gift that everyone can appreciate but never thinks to buy for themselves. Spoil your exchange group with this vanilla, citrus and cinnamon Santa-approved Poo-Pourri toilet spray.
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