Yankee Swap/Dirty Santa ideas

[maslex]

Every year we go to my brother's house for Christmas Eve and we do a Yankee Swap. It's seems like we've all gone through all of the typical type gifts. Sometimes they are gag gifts and sometimes they are real/useful gifts. We set a $10 limit, so never anything significant. People range from 14-52. I'd like to bring something useful but different. What have been your favorites over the years to either bring or receive?

Last year my husband and I brought a set of 12 dip mixes that I got at Walmart and a pack of batteries. I was thinking of getting a big pack of toilet paper this year LOL

Any other ideas?

 

[PollyannaMom]

I was thinking of getting a big pack of toilet paper this year LOL

That would be funny!

Practical ideas:
lantern-style flash light (for power outages)
small tool kit (IKEA's basic set is around $10, I think)

Beer and wine are always popular at the one we regularly attend

But since you have underage participants, these were some of the other hits:
Dunkin's gift cards
scratch tickets (We put them in a "phone jail" so nobody could scratch them until the end.)
a pair of big fluffy reindeer slippers:

 

[anniemae]

At my friends family swap one year she told me someone did a joke gift that everyone was fighting for. It was the toddler book called "everybody poops", a roll of toilet paper, bathroom spray, some prunes, and a pin that said "I pooped today." I guess everybody got a kick out of it.

I usually do a more practical gift like a Dunkin' gift card in a nice coffee mug.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Some things we've done/received/seen in the past (for under $20):
Movie night: micro popcorn, box candy, 2L bottle of soda, and a dumb movie (we picked a Three Stooges shows dvd, got it at a dollar store!) in a popcorn bucket. (You could go with a good movie, but we were doing a bad gift so...)

Temporary hairdye and tattoos, and a cd of Bad to the Bone...

edible bugs (usually can find them at a zoo or museum

Weird socks

Chia pets

a webshooter (like Spidey, uses silly string)

anything with a photo of nicholas cage

A santa suit made the rounds at one company for about 10 years.

Waterproof notebook (waterproof paper) with pen (space pen or one that writes underwater)

 

[nw6675]

Beer bread mix with a bottle of beer

Silicone spatula with a cookie mix

Along with with the TP ideas, a copy of The Bathroom Reader (so funny and interesting for ages) or a handheld cheap game to play on the throne lol

 

[leebee]

There's always fruitcake!

 

[FreeTime]

Here are some things that have made the rounds in various exchanges I have been in.

The gift cards have never been popular unless they are partially used.

The rule we have is it must be something you already have at home. No buying! This is the time to unload what you don’t want.

A smiley faced toilet brush (unused thank goodness)

A small trash can that was a character if some sort

Half a bottom of whisky with glasses still in the box

Table cloth

Office supplies (partially used post its, pens, prior year calendar)

Pet toy

Outgrown kid toy

DVDs

 

[sksjasams]

Can you go a couple dollars over?
costco has the Battery Daddy on sale for $12.99.
it’s a battery storage case with tester

Amazon has a 3-pack of scrub daddies for $10

walmart has some hot sauce gift sets for $11

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

It's so hard to stay under $10 these days. My husband's office does a calendar exchange. The weirder or more embarrassing, the better. It may not work for family, but the rule at the office is that the calendar MUST be displayed in your office/cubicle for the entire year. It's amusing to see upper management with calendars like Sesame Street, pop star calendars, etc., hanging in their offices. It's a lot of fun and they have done it for at least the past 20 years.