28 Best Yankee Swap Gifts Under $25
Today, we will discuss some of the best Yankee swap gifts to consider this year. Offering gifts is just as satisfying for the giver as it is for the receiver, so you should put some thought into them.
A great Yankee Swap gift may come in the form of food, games, storage, knicknacks, or something funny. The best gifts are entertaining, useful, and inexpensive. Sound impossible? That’s why you have us!
Making a list with the best Yankee swap gift ideas and choosing the most suitable ones for some particular receivers is an exercise in creativity if not more. Read on for the best Yankee Swap Gift options!
What is a Yankee Swap Gift Exchange?
You may be asking what a Yankee Swap Party is. Sometimes known as a White Elephant Gift Exchange, or a Dirty Santa Gift Exchange, this party is a clever way to spice up the good old fashioned gift exchange that your family and co-workers bore you with year after year. The rules can vary, but simply, everyone is directed to contribute a wrapped gift within a certain price range.
Usually, to assure everyone gets something nice but not too nice, the limit is up to twenty-five dollars.
As each participant arrives with their gift they are asked to draw a number from a hat. Each person waits until his number is called. On each person’s turn, he may decide to pick an unwrapped, new gift from the table to open or swap the gift with someone else. Each gift is technically unclaimed until the swap is over. Don’t be surprised though, if in the end there is more swapping going on.
After all, the fun of the party is to go home with something exciting!
If you want more Yankee swap gift ideas, don’t forget to check out our guide on some of the most amazing housewarming party gifts you can buy for close friends, family members, acquaintances, or workmates. On the other hand, if the concept of a Yankee swap is not right up on your alley, you can get your inspiration going form our guide on gift exchange games for large groups. Besides the White Elephant, you also have the Cheer Exchange, the Hot Potato, the legendary & classic Secret Santa, the Numbers Game, and so on. After all, choosing a gift for someone and exchanging gifts with other people require specific mindsets and certain conditions, so pick the game that serves you best.
Now, let’s return to our White Elephant gift ideas to consider this year!
What Makes a Great Yankee Swap Gift?
Before we begin, let’s go over the unspoken “rules” or expectations for Yankee Swap Gifts:
They are very Tacky
Tacky items like decorative Christmas jumpers, t-shirts with unicorns, bright pink underwear, or lampshades shaped like body parts are all great choices. If you would be embarrassed to use the item, it would make a great Yankee Swap gift!
They are bizarre
Items that are weird can also be great Yankee Swap gifts. A can of unicorn meat, an automated pet petter, a lunchbox labeled “human organs” and so on.
They are gross
Anything that makes you cringe can work well as a Yankee Swap gift. Consider fake poo in a box, chocolate covered bacon, a farting coin bank or a toilet bowl coffee mug.
They are risqué
Items that feature nudity or sexual themes can also be great presents for a Yankee Swap. Consider a cooking apron with fake breasts, a perverted garden gnome doing a poo, or salt and pepper shakers that show two cute pigs fornicating! Any item that is embarrassing to use makes a great choice — just remember to constantly ask the recipient where the gift is every time you visit their home!
They are useful while being unusual
Yankee Swap gifts don’t have to be useless! You can find some weird items that are useful around the home. If the recipient starts using the item regularly, they will generate laughs all through the year. A karate lettuce chopper or novelty coffee cup can get plenty of use and might become one of their favorite items!
Useful Yankee Swap Gifts
Elite Gourmet Personal Coffee Maker
Family, friends, or co-workers, this gift is perfect for anyone in the group! The coffee brews directly into the 15-ounce travel mug and the mug is designed to fit in almost any vehicle cup holder. The coffeemaker is equipped with a permanent filter, filter basket, and auto shut-off for those busy mornings. The mug is complete with a lid and can be washed safely in the dishwasher. This gift will be a big hit at the swap party. It is also an amazing housewarming party gift, so put it on the list for other parties and occasions requiring presents!
Glass Food Storage Set
This versatile gift will be welcomed by women and men alike. Imagine taking your food from the oven to the fridge in one dish. Carry these dishes with you to the party, and warm the food in the microwave when you get there. You can freeze the leftovers right in the same dish, and place it in the dishwasher when it is empty. The 6 piece set includes one 3-cup, one 6-cup, and one 11-cup rectangular dish. Each dish comes with its own lid. These easy to store, stackable dishes will have everyone fighting over them.
Hot Cocoa Gift Set
Everyone likes hot chocolate, so you can’t go wrong with this gift! This gourmet hot cocoa set includes three 8 ounce cans that each consists of salted caramel, chocolate truffle, and peppermint. Just add hot water and you will have a hot cup of cocoa to warm you up on the coldest day. Make a special treat in the summer by adding the cocoa to a glass full of ice. Either way you like it, this gift will be sure to please. Packaged in a gift box with ribbon, your work is already done.
Adult Coloring Book
The latest craze is the relaxing, adult coloring book. This gift is great for a swap party with the girls. Older children will enjoy this gift as well. This set includes mandalas, flower designs, and geometric patterns. These books are great for anxiety and stress relief. Explore your inner creativity with each of the 48 single-sided coloring pages, and express your thoughts on each of the 48 journal pages in every book. Adult coloring books are all the rage right now and make some incredible activities for teens as well during a rainy day in the house, so grab a few for your family as well!
Throw Blanket
Nobody will resist the comfort of a soft, warm blanket. This blanket has the feel of velvet plush on one side and reverses to the feel of an extra warm cloud sherpa on the other side. The ideal 50×60 inch size makes for a comfy movie night throw, or wrap it around your shoulders while working at the computer late at night. This gift is available in a variety of colors and will be perfect for anyone in your group. Sit back and watch them fight for this one.
Freshly Roasted Delicious Healthy Nuts Basket
This tray of healthy nuts is made with four delicious sections of cashews, pistachios, honey glazed pecans and almonds. These nuts are 100% natural and will make the perfect kosher, vegetarian or organic snack for anyone in the group. The nuts are packaged for freshness in a box, and ready for gift giving. The winner will be so delighted, maybe he will share some with you before the night is over.
Burt’s Bees Hand Repair Gift Set
Everyone has dry, chapped hands every now and then, so choosing this gift will not be a waste. The hand repair kit includes Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream, Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream and Shea Butter Hand Repair Cream. This kit is packaged in a clear nylon bag tied with ribbon. As an added bonus, the kit also includes a pair of cotton gloves to help keep in the moisture. The person that wins this gift will have to hide it from the rest.
Hidden Alcohol Sunscreen Flask
This is the best gift for the adult party. These two, 10-ounce realistic sunscreen bottles, will conceal your drinks so you can sneak them in with you wherever you go. They are leakproof with airtight seals and are food-grade safe. Extra seals and a funnel are included. The flasks easily hold approximately nine shots each, and can easily be passed around for sharing.
Window Herb Garden Kit
With so many plant lovers out there today, a houseplant kit is sure to be a hit in any circle of people. This one is super affordable and offers an army of cute little guys.
Scratch Off Date Kit
Coming up with fun date nights, especially in a long-term relationship, can get pretty tough. This cute little kit provides 40 scratch cards that will reveal your adventure for the night! Give the gift of spontaneity for your Yankee Swap.
Massage Gun
Funny Yankee Swap Gifts
Yankee Swap Gift Tee Shirt
Give them a souvenir to remember the night forever! With this shirt, they can wear it to the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party they will be going to next. This classic fit, lightweight, 100% cotton tee is available in a variety of colors and sizes. Make this the best Yankee swap gift on the table, and be the star of the party. Remember we said above that some best White Elephant gift ideas can be strange and even unsightly as long as they have a good dose of intrinsic humor attached to them? This is one of those Yankee swap gift ideas to consider this year!
Never Have I Ever: The Game of Poor Life Decisions Card Game
This party game is for ages 17 and older, so it would be ideal for the adult Yankee Swap Party. This popular game includes 550 cards of hilarious, awkward, and embarrassing adult material. With this game, you have the opportunity to learn more about each other. A fun party game that the winner might want to play with everyone when the swapping is over. You know how much we love a good (and mean) game of Never Have I Ever, so if you want to play it (outside the card game) with your friends and family, here are the best Never Have I Ever Game Questions to make your own version of this amazing campfire activity for adults who know each other pretty well and are not afraid to tap into some personal issues.
Knock Knock Bathroom Guest Book
This unique book will have everyone spending time in the bathroom at the next party. Each page is designed for the guest to answer questions, draw a picture and describe their bathroom experience. No more trifling through an outdated magazine, or critiquing the color of your host’s bathroom. Even the serious grump at the party will laugh at this book!
Toilet Mug
This is a classic Yankee Swap gift that is both disgusting and incredibly funny. It is a toilet bowl-shaped coffee mug that is quite disgusting to drink from — the perfect gift for someone with a potty mouth! It is a high-quality ceramic mug made by BigMouth Inc. It holds 12 ounces of your favorite sewerage-colored beverage.
Fifty Shades of Chicken: A Parody in a Cookbook
This hilarious book is a parody of the popular 50 Shades of Grey series. It focuses on the erotic side of preparing, cooking and devouring chicken! You will learn how to tie up your chicken, caress her skin, gently prepare her for the oven and finally reach a climax after 60 minutes at 350 degrees. It is the perfect Yankee Swap gift and sure to draw a few laughs from the group.
How To Traumatize Your Children Book
This is a great Yankee Swap gift that will every parent will want! It is an instructional tome on how to screw up your kids that features helpful illustrations and checklists. It also includes the latest buzzwords used by bad parents and the recent trends in “traumatic parenting.” Perfect for parents looking for bad advice!
This fish soap is a must have Yankee gift! Imagine getting clean with a big cold hard fish! Yuck! Luckily this fish soap smells just as good as it looks. You can grab this as a great present for a fisher buddy, a dad, a little kid, an old man, or anyone who has a sense of humor. The ingredients include Coconut Oil, Responsibly Sourced Palm Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Safflower Oil, and delicious-smelling essential oils. Use as body soap or hand soap.
“Your Stick Family Was Delicious” Window Decal
Most people fall into one of two camps — either they are happy to put decals of stick figures on their car that represent their family members, or they hate people that do that. If you hate the people with stick figure decals, grab this decal. It features a T-Rex gobbling up a stick family for dinner. Guaranteed to generate a few laughs.
Titanic Ice Tray
This is a great gift for people with a morbid sense of humor! It is a food-safe synthetic ice cube tray in the shape of four Titanic ocean liners and four icebergs. You can recreate the famous sinking of this huge ship in a glass of gin or bourbon!
Bacon Bandages
Is there anything bacon can’t do? This is the perfect Yankee Swap gift — ridiculous and useless! This product consists of a tin container branded with “Bacon Bandages” graphics. The tin contains fifteen bacon bandages and a bonus trinket.
Toilet Mini Golf
This gift inspires giggles just by looking at it. Most people just bring their phones with them for toilet entertainment, but now your friend can have something a little more creative to do while performing business.
Pooping Dogs Calendar
Everyone needs a new calendar for the new year, so technically this gift is both funny and useful. Each page showcases a different photo of a dog taking a dump – beloved by all!
Donald Trump Fortune Telling Ball
Whether a Trump fan or not, this little device makes the perfect funny White Elephant gift. And, who knows, maybe he’ll predict right!
Chia Pet Bob Ross
This cute-and-creepy little chia pet will make an amazingly humorous addition to anyone’s home. The great thing about chia pets is that they can be washed and replanted indefinitely – forever fun!
Undies For Two
This hilariously awkward gift will have everyone cackling just looking at it, and even more so when two people get brave enough to try them on.
Danny Devito Sequin Pillow
These sequin pillows are so fun to mess with, and your group will love to discover what happens when you pet them the other way!
Is there a Difference Between Yankee Swap vs White Elephant Gift Ideas?
Historically speaking, yes, there is, although in the modern world, Yankee swap gifts ideas and White Elephant gift ideas are quite the same thing. The Yankee swap gift concept goes back to the American Civil War, they say, when generals were swapping prisoners in a barter system that had nothing to do with human rights as we know them.
On the other hand, the idea of receiving a White Elephant is, by all means, and purposes, a burden. The king of Siam proved to his people back in the day that getting a white elephant was a punishment and not so much a token of appreciation.
In conclusion, White Elephant gifts should be a bit ridiculous and useless in nature, while Yankee swap gifts, no matter how brutal, had some intrinsic value to them. Today, we do not make much of a difference between them and both are extremely fun gifting exchange ideas.
Best Yankee Swap Gifts: Bottom Line
Whether you call them White Elephant gift ideas or Yankee swap gift ideas, we hope our suggestions proved useful to you to have some fun with family, friends, or co-workers this year. If you have more ideas you tried already and made the hoped-for impact, tell us everything about them in the comment section below! We would love to upgrade this article with some of the best Yankee swap gifts that our readers vouch for and recommend!
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