The 37 Best White Elephant Gifts for 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Samantha Schoech and Mari Uyehara Arguably, the point of a white elephant exchange is not the gift you take home but the chaos and camaraderie leading up to it. Of course, to get the party going,

By Samantha Schoech and Mari Uyehara

Arguably, the point of a white elephant exchange is not the gift you take home but the chaos and camaraderie leading up to it. Of course, to get the party going, you need the right gifts—the guffaw-inducing, the ridiculous, the appealingly useful, and the purely delightful. From pickle bandages to a puzzle of pooping puppies (yes, that’s right), below you will find a wide range of affordable ideas that are sure to spark the competitive gift-grabbing spirit.

If you’re looking for more wallet-friendly gifts, check out our guides for under $10, under $50, and under $100 gifts, as well as stocking stuffers and secret santa gifts.

These handmade, 100% durum wheat semolina pastas come in a variety of styles, including multi-colored butterfly bows and a braided plait flavored with peperoncino.

The price of a box of Good Hair Day Pasta may seem a bit absurd—even for premium pasta that’s handmade in Italy with bronze casts. But this is exactly the kind of affordable luxury that would delight a gift recipient. Each stylish box shows a plastic pane in the shape of a hairstyle surrounding the illustrated face of a woman. Choose from different styles, such as a cacao springs mane, a basil- and lemon-flavored tangle of fettuccine, or a crimped lunghi bucati.

These adorable, vibrantly hued porcelain chopstick rests come in a variety of fruit and vegetable forms, including watermelon, eggplant, and pink radish.

The Wing On Wo & Co Fruit Chopstick Rests are absolutely delightful, with cutesy, colorful options like watermelon, eggplant, and pink radish. The affordable ceramic rests are about 2.5 inches long, and they’re made by the “oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan’s Chinatown,” according to the website. Just note that they must be hand-washed.

These two oversize, heat-resistant silicone “pasta” bowties, which fit over pot handles for safe carrying, are dishwasher-safe and just slightly ridiculous.

There’s something inherently funny about oversize pasta bowties, and the Farfalloni Pasta Pot Grips are also practical, helping cooks to drain actual pasta. These 4-inch-wide silicone pot holders are heat-resistant and dishwasher-safe. They’d also be amusing at a dinner party, for transporting a big Dutch oven of stew (or any other dish) to the dinner table.

This charming, colorful, 4-inch-tall tin holds a sharpener and 18 quality crayons named after Warhol references, like Hot Dog Bean Soup and Grape Marilyn.

A pink-and-teal riff on Warhol’s iconic 1962 painting, the Mudpuppy Andy Warhol Inspired Soup Can Crayons tin is roomy enough to hold 18 crayons and the included sharpener, and there’s still space for additions (like more crayons or little toys). When we tested the Mudpuppy crayons—which sport cheeky, Warhol-inspired names, like “Invisible Sculpture” for white—we found that they were on a par with other quality scribblers. Unlike cardboard Crayola boxes, the 4-inch-tall tin can isn’t prone to disintegrating at the bottom (and spilling crayons all over in transit).

Delivering on its promise of squatting pooches, this 1,000-piece puzzle keeps the laughter rolling with German shepherd, golden retriever, and Bernese mountain dogs doing their business.

We know seniors and 7-year-olds alike who find nothing funnier than good old-fashioned bathroom humor. And that’s exactly why the 101 Pooping Puppies Jigsaw Puzzle is the perfect family game. This challenging-yet-doable puzzle clocks in at 1,000 pieces, and the pieced-together sights of a poodle or a pit bull doing their business is sure to keep everyone engaged.

These itty-bitty cross-stitch projects are as giftable as they are cute, which is to say, extremely so. But the small print of the pattern can be hard to see for people with low vision.

The Marvling Bros Kawaii Cross Stitch Kits—one of our favorite fabric crafts for adults—come in more than a dozen squeal-inducing versions, including a smiling taco, a toadstool, and a strawberry. Each kit includes instructions, an embroidery needle and floss, and cross-stitch fabric. While the kit is intended for intermediate cross-stitchers, the sweetly designed, matchbook-sized containers will likely get snatched up by adoring young kids.

This tidy calendar features top NYT Cooking recipes, making it an analog answer to the daily conundrum of what to make for dinner (or a lunch, side, or dessert).

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The New York Times Cooking Calendar helps ease the perennial question of “what should we have for dinner?” With one recipe per weekday and one for the entire weekend, each pull-off page delivers a doable dinner, side, or dessert, with choices like sesame salmon bowls and carne adobada. Staff writer Mari Uyehara’s partner found that the 2024 calendar added new standards to their weekly dinner rotation—without requiring any of the usual research efforts.

A fun ode to spring, this lovely, 430-piece set of two branches sports sprays of pink and white flowers flecked with light green leaves. Plus, they’ll never wilt.

The Lego Cherry Blossoms will last much longer than the two weeks of their ephemeral floral namesake. The 430-piece set turns into two separate branches, one with darker pink and the other with white-and-blush flowers, dotted with green leaves, which would fit nicely into a bud vase. While quick to build for an adult or Lego-savvy kid, it’d also make for a sweet shared project with a smaller child.

We love the classic lines, the low price, and the consistent cup of coffee this French press produces. This version comes in two exclusive colorways.

The 34-ounce MoMA Bodum Caffettiera French Press—the budget pick in our guide to the best French presses—has a smooth steel filter and chrome-plated borosilicate beaker, and it produces a rich cup of coffee. This particular model comes in a couple of fun tricolor designs—with a different hue for the lid, handle, and plunger top—at the MoMa Design Store. Choose from blue-green-red or green-purple yellow.

This cloaked crusher deftly minces multiple cloves but also pulverizes seed, nuts, and spices.

According to most chefs and our kitchen testers, a garlic press is one of the kitchen gadgets you can skip. (Mincing is better than smushing.) But the Ototo Gracula Garlic Crusher has metal teeth to chop and mince as you twist the head, and it can tackle ginger, nuts, and other grindables as well. It’s charming, quirky, and exceptionally well reviewed.

Tingly but effective concentrations of lactic acid and glycolic acid team up for a deeply exfoliating callus treatment.

This Baby Foot Exfoliation Foot Peel enjoyed a bout of internet fame a few years ago, in part because it’s a little weird. And it used to be much harder to get your hands—or, rather, feet—on. Recipients tape their tootsies into gel-filled booties for an hour—after rinsing and waiting a few days, skin begins to slough and peel. It’s safe and immensely satisfying. The lactic and glycolic acids work even better if your feet are presoaked and pliant.

This highly adjustable and smooth-twisting cube is a great starting point for novice cubers, and it has the chops to help you keep up with more-experienced speed solvers.

A twist on the classic Rubik’s Cube, the MoYu RS3M Maglev uses magnets in its mechanism, so it’s pleasantly smooth and easy to manipulate (it doesn’t have any of that crunching noise you get with old-school cubes). Our testers deemed it great for novices and practiced cube-heads. If your recipient doesn’t appreciate this particular type of brainteaser, they can always use it as a paperweight.

This combination beanie and headlamp has a bright, rechargeable light embedded in a soft, warm hat.

Staff writer Samantha Schoech brought this genius Etsfmoa Beanie with Light to a Yankee swap last year, and it became the coveted gift to snag. She later bought herself one, and it became a lifesaver while she was putting on tire chains in a snowstorm after dark (she failed, but at least her head was warm and she could see). This soft acrylic beanie has a flat, bright light that can be removed for USB recharging. It has an on-off button in the middle and runs about eight hours on a charge. Better headlamps are available, but this model is the coziest.

This word-building game is played at breakneck speed, and it’s fun for groups of all ages.

This lightning-fast Bananagrams game combines the wordsmithing of Scrabble with the heart-pounding pace of Boggle. It’s easy to learn, works for two to eight players, and comes in a portable, unmissable banana-shape pouch. Because players race to finish first (rather than for points) and create their word grids freeform, the game doesn’t require a board or even a scoresheet.

Patient painters can re-create museum masterpieces with these classic paint-by-number kits, featuring works by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat.

Adult coloring books are so early 2010s. So we’re calling it now: The paint-by-number genre is this decade’s meditative, grown-up art pursuit. And no sets are as appealing as the Faber-Castell Paint by Number Museum Series. Each package includes a 6-by-8-inch canvas, six 5-milliliter pots of acrylic paint, a soft brush, and (most importantly) detailed yet easy-to-follow instructions for mixing. We love “The Starry Night” miniature, but you can also choose works by Seurat and Monet, depending on your recipient’s artistic proclivities. A tiny chipboard easel is included, but each artist will need to provide their own beret.

These rustic incense sticks smell like the Maine balsam boughs they’re made from.

The contents of the Paine Products Balsam Sticks & Holder are unassuming, to be sure: a block of wood drilled with a crude hole and 24 nubby brown logs. But the unfussy presentation belies a transportive experience. Each tiny cylinder is rendered from Maine balsam boughs that are ground, dried, and pressed. When they are lit, the resulting scent is rich, resinous, reminiscent of Christmas, and not overly earthy or cloying like some incense. The nostalgic box is charming, too, and it looks lovely without any extra wrapping.

These plastic Russian nesting dolls are really six handy dry measuring cups.

“Oh, how cute … white plastic matryoshkas,” your unwitting recipient will marvel. But you know better. These little babushkas are not only traditional Russian nesting dolls but also handy measuring cups. The tallest of the three dolls is just 5 inches, and each half is cleverly labeled with six dry measuring increments, from a quarter to a full cup. The plastic is food-safe and BPA-free, so your recipient can use them to make batches of chocolate kolbasa and buckwheat blinis.

A 5-inch Botox syringe rendered in sparkly painted glass.

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The most common cosmetic treatment in the world, Botox injections are plenty popular with everyone from the stars of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills to those suffering from chronic migraines (it’s proved to be an effective treatment in clinical trials). Men and women of a certain age might giggle over the idea of a Cody Foster Wrinkle Free Ornament swinging from their tree. As gag gifts go, this one is pretty enough to keep, with a pastel teal tube and glittery needle. If this ornament appeals, buy it now. The topical Cody Foster glass ornaments tend to sell out.

These seemingly silly pickle adhesive bandages are sterile and sticky enough for small cuts.

Klutzy kids often grow into klutzy adults, but that doesn’t mean their first-aid kits have to grow up too. Unlike some novelty adhesive bandages we’ve tried that feel cheap and flimsy, these photorealistic Bioswiss Pickle Bandages stick strongly to the skin for sterile wound care, and they also broadcast the wearer’s love of dill and fermentation. This is a great gift for a parent, someone with two left feet, or anyone with a playful streak; a more carnivorous crew might enjoy the bacon slab version.

These elegantly scented air fresheners are the antidote to the cloying, artificial smells of gas station air fresheners—but they’re a lot more expensive, too.

You don’t need to suffer from migraines to dread the sight—and the scent—of a tree-shape air freshener dangling from the rearview mirror of an Uber car. Based in New York City, editor Gabriella Gershenson doesn’t have a car, but she likes this the D.S. & Durga Auto Fragrance so much she hangs one by her desk to gently scent her workspace. Her favorite, Wild Brooklyn Lavender, smells of the herb, concrete, and suede—an earthy floral effect, not anything like the stomach-turning scents of ye olde piquant pines. The brand also offers a handful of other evocative olfactory moods, like Big Sur After Rain and Portable Fireplace.

This loyal plastic frog keeps sponges clean and dry.

We’re not saying that storing a sponge in the mouth of an amphibian makes doing the dishes any less of a drag. Well, actually we are saying that, and we’re also saying that the Dependable Products Frog Sponge Holder is more than just a jester. By lifting a sponge up and out of the sink, this holder helps it stay fresh longer, as well as easier to find for quickie cleaning projects. The frog is made from a sturdy plastic that doesn’t mold and dries quickly, and his eager jaws readily held any size sponge we tried.

The white-chocolate-covered almonds dressed up as martini olives are crunchy and convincing.

Sometimes the creation of whimsy requires nothing more than making one food look like another. Here, Sugarfina Martini White-Chocolate Almonds masquerade as martini olives—and we are smitten. But unlike so many other novelty sweets, these are certified kosher and don’t include artificial flavors.

These dainty cactus-shape magnets are more than strong enough to hold up a postcard or shopping list.

Real plants make risky presents. They require sunlight, water, attention—and they still might die. But not TabEnter Refrigerator Magnets: Not only do they serve an important utility, holding up photos and grocery lists on the fridge, but they also require no care whatsoever. These cacti magnets are especially cute and, according to customer reviews, strong for their diminutive size.

Despite its name, this gift is not just for kids. This combination karaoke mic and speaker can also record songs and change your voice with up to five effects.

True, there’s no replacement for a proper karaoke night. But the lucky recipient of this portable karaoke microphone can at least recreate the party at home, albeit on a smaller scale. The Kidwill Wireless Karaoke Microphone, which connects to a music source via Bluetooth or a 3.5-millimeter audio cable, has a long-lasting battery to amplify voices for several hours of crooning fun. A lot of cheap karaoke mics are sold online, but of those priced under $25, this mic has some of the best reviews we’ve found.

Keep your bath wine handy with this stick-on, silicone wine glass holder that affixes securely to any smooth surface, sans suction cups.

We’ve been saying this for years now, but it still holds true: There’s no time like the present to drink in the bathroom. The silicone 30 Watt Bath Wine Holder affixes to dry, nonporous bathroom tile or a shower door—or, hell, to the window near a desk (we’re not judging). It holds a glass and, hopefully, keeps relaxation—or at least a nice pinot—close at hand.

This moldable, hardening silicone putty can be used to make repairs or create hooks, pulls, and knobs.

Sugru Mouldable Glue works like something you’d expect to find in a sci-fi novel: Just roll and squeeze the silicone rubber into the desired shape, place it where you want it, and in 30 minutes the putty hardens. Your gift recipient will be able to fix broken parts, make new components, or DIY whatever they can imagine. Wirecutter’s Winnie Yang has used this glue to mend a broken ceramic plate and a plastic knob on an old AC unit—by her own admission, “not particularly sexy or exciting” projects. But those seeking inspiration can find even more ideas online for what to do with the glue.

Inside this clever package are two pairs of stretchy cotton-blend socks inspired by a cucumber maki and salmon nigiri.

Socks are an objectively good present. Those who disagree have never pulled on a pair fresh from the dryer on a cold day. And though plain crew socks would probably be the least-desired present at a white-elephant exchange, socks in the shape of sushi rolls are a different matter entirely. With cute designs that are fun but not garish, the Rainbow Socks Sushi Socks look as good in their packaging as they will on your loved one’s feet.

This collapsible popper and serving bowl is made of microwave- and dishwasher-safe silicone, and it produces superior popcorn.

Popcorn is hard to get wrong. But for those who don’t want to deal with space-hogging air poppers or annoying-to-clean stovetop methods, a dedicated microwave bowl might be just the thing. A favorite among the popping methods we’ve tried, the silicone W&P The Popper is dishwasher-safe and collapses down to about 2 inches for easy storing—and it can pop up a bowl of the good stuff in just about two minutes.

This cute, mini waffle maker effectively produces one well-cooked 4-inch waffle at a time. It comes in novelty shapes, like snowmen, skulls, and pineapples.

Wirecutter has recommendations for great waffle makers. But on occasion everyone just wants to make something adorable and small (about the diameter of an Eggo waffle). The Dash Mini Waffle Maker is nonstick, for easy waffle extraction, and it’s small enough that storage isn’t a problem. It comes in several poppy colors and prints, as well as interesting shapes like a heart or a pumpkin. And though it may lack the longevity of our picks, it does come backed by a one-year warranty.

Constellations emerge on this star-covered ceramic mug when it’s filled with hot liquid.

This is a perfect gift for fans of astrology, lovers of Greek mythology, or anyone who simply likes beautiful things. The Unemployed Philosophers Guild Constellation Mug holds 10 ounces and reveals 11 constellations after hot liquid is poured in. It’s also microwave-safe, so when the recipient’s coffee cools, they can nuke it to bring back the lost stars.

This is the crunchiest, flakiest finishing sea salt, beloved by professional and home cooks alike.

Salt may seem like the last gift someone would want to trade for. But one taste of Maldon’s delicate, crunchy flakes will shatter that perception. A favorite among home cooks, celebrity chefs, and members of our own kitchen team—one of our kitchen editors even has a tattoo of the flakes on her forearm—Maldon salt is just prettier and tastier than the normal stuff. Gabriella discovered this mondo bucket a few years ago, and now it’s her go-to affordable hostess gift.

This chubby, pint-size potato is adorable and rechargeable.

When you pat the Smoko Potato Light on its round head or chubby tummy and watch it light up, you can’t help but smile. The darling spud emits a soft glow in one of three brightness levels and operates via a USB-rechargeable battery. It is cute and perfect and sweet, and it must be protected at all costs.

The pointed kitty ears on these cute, stretchy cotton socks come to just above the ankle. Each set includes five pairs.

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A dear friend sent staff writer Dorie Chevlen this five-pack of Jeesona Cat Socks when she asked her to be her maid of honor. And if she’d been on the fence before, this pushed her to the side of virtue. (Just joking! Every maid of honor lives to serve.) Each sock features a sweet cat face at the top and paw prints at the bottom, and the stretchy cotton stays soft and comfortable even after months of wear. And if your giftee isn’t into cats, you can also choose an owl, dog, llama, panda, or sloth print.

All of the 365 insults and nasty names contained in this page-a-day were written by the bard himself.

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This Shakespearean Insults Calendar has 365 of the bard’s best barbs, so you can read through long-forgotten lines while you check the date, which is even harder to remember than deciphering Old English. Should your recipient’s honor ever be challenged, they’ll be ready to tell that “threadbare juggler” or “poisonous bunch-backed toad” just what a “lump of foul deformity” they are.

This ceramic version of the classic New York City to-go coffee cup is nostalgic and dishwasher safe.

Whether your white-elephant exchange includes New Yorkers or just lovers of design history, this ceramic facsimile New York Coffee Cup of the ubiquitous paper original will be a welcome addition in whatever latitude it lands. It’s an especially nice gift for New York City expats, and it is dishwasher- and microwave-safe.

This jiggly, Jello-like shower gel has a refreshing citrus-rosemary scent and a velvety lather.

The Lush Whoosh Shower Jelly is luxurious and hilarious at the same time. With the wobbly, jiggling consistency of Flubber but an elegant scent profile of citrus, rosemary, and geranium, it’s as moisturizing as it is entertaining. It can be used like a bar of soap (sudsed in the hands and then transferred to the body) or broken off and smushed into a loofah. And in case you’re curious, this strangely sensual video shows just what this idiosyncratic soap can do.

We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.

Dorie Chevlen contributed reporting. This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.

Samantha Schoech

I discover, vet, and write about gifts of all kinds from my office in San Francisco. I am particularly drawn to all things shiny or bookish, but I try not to impose my taste more than is strictly necessary.

Mari Uyehara

I cover a wide range of gift giving, with a specialty in food and drink gifts; I also touch on beauty on occasion. I work to ensure that we consider a diverse range of socio-cultural backgrounds in our guides.

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The 37 Best White Elephant Gifts for 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter