The best white elephant gift ideas are things everybody secretly wants and nobody buys for themselves. That’s why a good box of candy gets stolen more often than any gadget in the pile. The same rule works for Secret Santa gift ideas: pick something consumable, shareable and a little special, and you’ll never see it regifted next year.
We’ve watched a lot of gift exchanges unfold from behind our counter on River Street since 1973, usually when someone dashes in the morning of the office party. Here’s our guide to winning the swap with sweets hand-made in our River Street kitchen in Savannah. For the rest of your holiday list, see our Southern Christmas gift guide.
White elephant vs. Secret Santa vs. Yankee swap: a quick rules refresher
Every office has one person who explains the rules differently every year. Here’s the short version.
| Game | How it works | Gift strategy |
|---|---|---|
| White elephant | Everyone brings one wrapped gift. Players draw numbers, then open a new gift or steal one already opened. | Bring something everyone wants. Steal-worthy beats funny. |
| Secret Santa | Names are drawn ahead of time, and each person buys for one coworker, often anonymously. | Personalize a little, but keep it easy to enjoy. |
| Yankee swap | A New England name for the same open-or-steal game, usually with a “useful gifts only” spirit. | Same as white elephant, with fewer joke gifts. |
| Dirty Santa | What plenty of Southerners call white elephant. Same game, more trash talk. | Bring the gift you’d steal yourself. |
House rules vary. Many groups “freeze” a gift after it’s been stolen two or three times, so the last steal matters.
Why candy wins the gift exchange
- Everybody likes it. A gag gift gets one laugh. A box of pralines gets three steals.
- It doesn’t need to “fit.” No sizes, no style guesses, no re-gifting closet.
- It looks like a present. Tins, towers and gift boxes arrive looking festive before anyone adds a bow.
- It gets shared. The winner usually opens it on the spot, and the whole room gets a taste. That’s good office politics.
The steal-worthy list: white elephant gifts people fight over
These are the white elephant gifts that circle the room until somebody freezes them.
- Holiday Box of Savannah’s World Famous Pralines®: creamy pralines cooked in copper kettles and hand-scooped onto marble. Expect it to get stolen early and often.
- Bear Claws®. Our Holiday Box of Pralines & Bear Claws pairs pralines with our pecan, caramel and chocolate clusters. Two favorites in one box doubles the odds of a fight.
- Santa’s Favorites Tin: a reusable holiday tin of our classics. The tin outlives the candy, which is a nice bonus.
- River Street Sweets Tin of Peanut Brittle: old-fashioned crunch in a giftable tin.
- Chocolate Almond Toffee: buttery, crunchy and dangerous next to a coffee pot.
- Jumbo Holiday Peanut Butter Cups: gag-gift energy, with a serious payoff. Nobody laughs at these for long.
White elephant gift ideas by size, from stocking-small to showstopper
We’ll leave the price math to your group’s spending limit. Our budget-friendly gifts collection does most of the work for you.
- Small and mighty. Treat boxes and bags, like the Glazed Pecan Treat Box, Peanut Brittle Treat Box or a Salt Water Taffy Pouch. Easy to wrap and easy to love.
- The tin tier. Tins feel substantial and look great wrapped. Try Santa’s Favorites Tin, the Glazed Pecan Tin or the peanut brittle tin.
- The showstopper. Boxed assortments, like our holiday pralines boxes, are the gift everyone eyes from across the room.
Secret Santa gift ideas for coworkers
With Secret Santa, you know who you’re buying for, at least a little. Match the treat to the person:
- The coffee-break snacker: Hot Honey Glazed Pecans or a bag of glazed pecans.
- The chocolate person: Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels or Chocolate Covered Pecans.
- The Southerner far from home: pralines, every time. It’s on our list of foods every Georgian craves for a reason.
- The new hire: a Savannah Gift Box of Salt Water Taffy. It’s cheerful and low-risk, and it says “welcome.”
- The one who has everything: something old-fashioned they won’t find at the grocery store, like Southern Pecan Divinity.
Most of these work as Christmas gifts for coworkers outside an exchange, too.
Office gift exchange ideas for the whole team
Sometimes the best office gift exchange idea is skipping the exchange. One shared basket in the break room means everyone’s a winner and nobody gets stuck with a candle. Some easy options:
- Office Party Basket: built to feed 10 to 12 people.
- Grab Basket: serves 7 to 9, sized for a smaller department.
- Holiday Party Pack and the Holiday Tray of Assorted Favorites: made for setting out and sharing.
Is the company paying? For client and employee gifts, see our guides to employee appreciation and client holiday gifts and corporate food gifts, or start a corporate order with our Gift Specialists.
A note on allergies and labels at work
Food gifts at work need a little extra care:
- Ask the organizer. Someone usually knows who has an allergy.
- Leave the packaging on. Original packaging keeps the product name with the gift, so anyone with questions can look up the ingredients.
- Know our kitchen. Everything we make comes from a facility that processes milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts and soy. Our candy isn’t a fit for anyone with a severe nut allergy.
- Gluten-free coworkers? Browse our gluten-friendly gifts.
Ready to win the swap? Shop budget-friendly gifts, hand-made in our River Street kitchen in Savannah, GA, and packed fresh to order.
White Elephant & Secret Santa FAQs
What is a good white elephant gift?
A good white elephant gift is something most people would be happy to take home. That’s why food gifts like pralines, brittle or a holiday tin get stolen so often. Gag gifts get laughs, but the steal-worthy gifts are the ones people actually want.
What’s the difference between white elephant and Secret Santa?
In white elephant, everyone brings an anonymous gift and players can open new gifts or steal opened ones. In Secret Santa, names are drawn ahead of time and each person buys a gift for one specific coworker or friend.
Is candy a good Secret Santa gift?
Yes. Candy is easy to enjoy, easy to share and doesn’t require knowing someone’s size or style. Choose a quality treat, like hand-made pralines or glazed pecans, so it feels like a gift and not a vending machine run.
What is a Yankee swap?
A Yankee swap is the New England name for an open-or-steal gift exchange, much like white elephant. In the South, you may hear the same game called Dirty Santa.
What should I give coworkers for Christmas?
Shareable treats are the safest bet: a tin, a treat box or a basket for the break room. Keep it modest, keep the packaging on so ingredients are easy to check, and add a short handwritten note.
How do you handle food allergies in an office gift exchange?
Ask the organizer whether anyone has an allergy, and keep gifts in their original packaging so ingredients can be checked. Our candy is made in a facility that processes milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts and soy, so it isn’t suitable for severe nut allergies.
