White Elephant ideas

[wvjules]

We are having a White Elephant gift exchange at work. The limit is $20 and our gifts are to be "airport related" and "be creative". I am the least creative person I know. Suggestions?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Neck wrap
Nice ear buds
Lap blanket

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are having a White Elephant gift exchange at work. The limit is $20 and our gifts are to be "airport related" and "be creative". I am the least creative person I know. Suggestions?

Sleep mask

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Booze. People drink booze on an airplane or at the bar at the airport.

 

[mini22]

books
magazine subscription
tote bag

 

[bcla]

An airline pilot teddy bear.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Is it a "white elephant" or regular gift exchange? I usually understand "white elephant" to mean that you're supposed to bring a really weird gift. It can even be something from around the house that you want to get rid of. A regular gift exchange or gift swap is where you buy a new, more desirable gift.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I'm assuming a white elephant gift is supposed to be something unusual / humorous?

Let's see:

Carry-on bag with a loud print
booze was a good suggestion, booze is always good
cat/dog carrier
sleep mask with a rude saying on it


I don't know, I'm not creative either.

 

[elphaba91]

A pockindo travel pillow. I have one and love it!
https://www.amazon.com/Sunany-Infla...a_1_1?keywords=pockindo&qid=1574193860&sr=8-1

 

[PollyannaMom]

Buy one of those little carry-on kits with the travel bottles in a zip bag, and fill them each with different candies. (Throw in a Dunkin's or Starbucks card if you aren't near the limit.)

Or a funny animal neck pillow: click here

 

[lovesmurfs]

Fun luggage tags: https://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Monst...527&sprefix=funny+luggage+tags,aps,452&sr=8-5

...and some of those little bottles of booze.

 

[bcla]

Is it a "white elephant" or regular gift exchange? I usually understand "white elephant" to mean that you're supposed to bring a really weird gift. It can even be something from around the house that you want to get rid of. A regular gift exchange or gift swap is where you buy a new, more desirable gift.

I'm rather knowledgable about the mean of "white elephant" as an Oakland A's fan. It's supposed to refer to something that's large or extravagant and generally unwanted. The A's were called that by a rival who thought that the owner had no business spending money that he ostensibly had no business doing. Perhaps it's something that's hard or expensive to deal with. Something like a boat, which would be difficult to store. The history is rather interesting, but the original idea was to give something that would financially ruin the recipient with the expense of upkeep.

As far as the white elephant gift exchange goes, I don't know if it would necessarily be characterized as something weird. I've done this sort of gift exchange before at a company party. There were some odd items, but I brought a box of really nice chocolate truffles. For most of these exchanges there's also a chance for someone to "steal" a previously disclosed gift in exchange for the one taken. At our company party I remember that our boss ended up with my box of chocolates and he deliberately sabotaged it by licking one in order to keep it. That was weirder than any of the gifts, that's for sure.

 

[starvenger]

- See if you can find one of those display planes for a defunct airline.
- LEGO plane
- DVD of "View From the Top" (a so-bad-it's-good movie) and/or "The Terminal"

 

[RUDisney]

My favorite travel items are the foot hammock. My ankles didn't swell on my trans-Atlantic flight this time because it kept my feet elevated. They hang onto the back of the tray table and can be used when the table is up or down.

I also like a good d-pocket bag to slide over the carryon handle.

A sample of the foot hammock is here:
https://www.amazon.com/Senrendipper...?keywords=foot+hammock&qid=1574195611&sr=8-44

 

[bcla]

- See if you can find one of those display planes for a defunct airline.
- LEGO plane
- DVD of "View From the Top" (a so-bad-it's-good movie) and/or "The Terminal"

Now that you mention that, I remember a relative who was a travel agent who ended up getting a lot nylon or vinyl airline bags. They were cheap giveaways, but we had way too many of them. One that was really popular a few years ago was the replica Pan-Am bag.

 

[RamblingMad]

We are having a White Elephant gift exchange at work. The limit is $20 and our gifts are to be "airport related" and "be creative". I am the least creative person I know. Suggestions?

I once did a white elephant exchange at a company, where almost everyone in my department was from India. Almost everyone from India brought a stuffed white elephant. If all else fails, take the name seriously.

 

[AustinTink]

I'd do a nice passport cover and matching luggage tags. Places like Marshall's and TJMaxx tend to have nice sets in your price range.

 

[Skippy918]

I would find either a silly or tacky travel related gift for the white elephant.

 

[bcla]

I once did a white elephant exchange at a company, where almost everyone in my department was from India. Almost everyone from India brought a stuffed white elephant. If all else fails, take the name seriously.

"White elephant" was literally about giving away white elephants. Don't know if that was a tradition in India, but it was in Southeast Asia.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

"White elephant" was literally about giving away white elephants. Don't know if that was a tradition in India, but it was in Southeast Asia.

From Wikipedia (what I was also told years ago)
The term white elephant refers to an extravagant, but impractical, gift that cannot be easily disposed of. The phrase is said to come from the historic practice of the King of Siam (now Thailand) giving rare albino elephants to courtiers who had displeased him, so that they might be ruined by the animals' upkeep costs.