I thought I’d share some specific ideas of what to bring to one of those holiday gift exchanges – call it white elephant, yankee swap, or whatever – because my work is having theirs tomorrow so it’s on my mind. The premise of them all is the same: bring a wrapped gift under some dollar limit then sit back and watch as your coworkers pick and swap their way to happiness. Okay, more like mild amusement. I came up with these ideas while waiting for my breakfast oatmeal to cool down / work computer to log me into the network.
If you have a $10 limit….
- Mug with tea, coffee, or hot chocolate packets
- Christmas music CD – make it something classic like Bing Crosby or a good mix of songs from current popular artists
- Cookie mix and decorating supplies (tubed icing, colored sugar)
- Joke or random facts books
- Small first aid kit
- Flashlight (could have used this when we lost power last night!)
- Card or board game – Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples
If you have a $15 limit….
- Set of Legos
- Nice chocolates
- Candles, either nice scented ones or flameless that look nice
- Stationery set – cards with envelopes or maybe a wax seal set
- Pair of Funko pop figurines along a given theme (Star Wars would be really popular right now)
- Whiskey stones
- Pound of local coffee – make sure it’s ground, not everyone has a grinder
If you have a $20 limit….
- Book and movie version of same story
- Wine/beer glasses – check out somewhere like HomeGoods that usually has at least a few sets on sale
- Cookie spices set from Penzeys
- Toy with storybook set of a currently popular character (for someone’s kid)
- Last-minute wrapping kit (paper, tape, scissors, labels)
