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)