Inside: Side achingly funny white elephant gifts for teens that won’t break the bank.
As a teen momma, I’ve witnessed my fair share of eye rolls, heard the dramatic sighs, and navigated the tricky terrains of the latest TikTok trends. So, when it comes to surprising this tough-to-please crowd with the perfect gift, especially during the festive fun of a white elephant exchange, the challenge is real!
But fret not, because hilarity doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. After countless holiday seasons, birthday parties (here is the best teen birthday party places), and gift exchanges, I’ve compiled this full list of side-splitting, budget-friendly white elephant gifts that are guaranteed to have your teen and their friends giggling long after the wrapping paper is torn away.
Get ready to secure your status as the cool, in-the-know parent without breaking the bank!
Affordable White Elephant Gifts for Teens
The first few lists here are going to be some simple and affordable white elephant gifts for teens that you can buy. If you were hoping for some DIY ideas, check further below… But if not, I think they will love these easy click and buy options.
4. Interesting Facts for Curious Minds
5. A donut blanket or hamburger blanket idea
10. A little bit creepy Unicorn Mask
Hilarious White Elephant Gifts for Teens
There are so many hilarious and RANDOM gifts for sale on the internet. Honestly, these just scratch the surface. Take a look and try not to laugh!
14. Spooky Box Idea
16. Yodeling Pickle
18. Dehydrated Water
19. Otamatone Idea
20. Feet Slippers
22. Emu stage puppet
DIY White Elephant Gifts for Teens
Now for the fun. As a crafty mom who enjoys saving money, these DIY white elephant gifts for teens are some of the best that I have come up with in a while. Not to toot my own horn or anything. TOOT! If you love these and want more DIY ideas, check out these DIY teen bedroom decorations.
23. Meme Pillow
Find fabric transfer paper at a craft store, print your favorite meme onto it, and iron the design onto a pillowcase. The more relevant the meme to current trends, the better.
24. Homemade Slime Kit
Gather ingredients like glue, baking soda, and food coloring. Place them in a decorative box with a set of absurd instructions, like adding “unicorn whispers” or “invisible fairy dust” to make magical slime.
25. Emoji Ornaments
Use model clay or thick cardstock to create popular emojis, then add a loop for hanging. Consider emojis that have funny connotations like the “face with tears of joy” or the “smirking face.”
26. ‘Spoiled’ Candy Jar
Take an ordinary jar and fill it with empty candy wrappers. On the label, write “Caution: Spoiled Candy” as a playful jab at the disappointment of empty treats.
27. Instant “Nerd” Kit
Assemble classic ‘nerdy’ items. For example, fill a box with thick-rimmed glasses (with tape in the middle), a bow tie, suspenders, and perhaps a book titled “The Essential Guide to Quantum Physics for Teens.”
28. Selfie Stick “Sword”
Take a standard selfie stick and decorate the handle with a hilt made of cardboard, making it resemble a sword. Attach a note challenging the recipient to a “duel for the best selfie.”
29. Funky Phone Case
Use a plain phone case and hot glue various items like googly eyes, buttons, beads, or even small plastic toys to it, creating a distinctively unique (and not particularly practical) phone case.
30. DIY Tie-Dye Kit
Package tie-dye colors and a plain white t-shirt in a box. Include instructions, but add a humorous twist, such as “For best results, dye while riding a roller coaster” or “Warning: may cause sudden artistic genius.”
31. “Vintage” Mixtape
Burn a CD or load a USB drive with songs known for being cheesy or annoyingly catchy. Design a cover that mimics the style of old cassette tape covers, complete with a quirky title like “Greatest Misses.”
32. Personalized Comic Book
Draw a short comic story where the teen is the hero. Use simple in-jokes known to the group or silly scenarios like saving the world from a zombie apocalypse caused by smartphones.
Top White Elephant Gifts for Teens
I saved the best for last, because that is what a good storyteller would do. This last section is full of some of my FAVORITE white elephant gifts for teens.
33. Silly Shaped Homemade Bath Bombs
Follow a simple bath bomb recipe using baking soda, citric acid, and food coloring. Include a funny surprise in the center, like a tiny rubber duck or a message written on waterproof paper. Then mold it into something funny!
34. Funny Fortune Cookies
Bake fortune cookies with paper fortunes inside that predict absurd futures like “You will soon eat a questionable burrito” or “You will become famous on the internet, but for a really stupid reason.”
35. Jar of Laughs
Write out jokes on slips of paper, the cornier the better, and fill a decorative jar with them. Label it with “In Case of Emergency, Open for Laughs.”
36. Epic “Soda”
Take a soda bottle, remove the original label, and replace it with your own, renaming the soda with something outrageous like “Liquid Lightning” with a description like, “Warning: May cause unexpected superpowers.”
37. Fake Plant
Create a plant using materials like colored paper, plastic bottles, or fabric, and pot it. Add a tag saying, “Guaranteed not to die from neglect.”
38. “Lost” Socks
Package several odd socks together, each one different from the other. Include a “missing” poster with funny descriptions of the missing matches.
39. DIY Celebrity Autograph
Print a photo of a celebrity and forge a ridiculous autograph like, “To my biggest fan, [teen’s name], stay cool, [wrong celebrity name].”
40. Custom Puzzles
Find a service that will turn a photo into a jigsaw puzzle, choosing an image that’s an inside joke or a hilariously bad teen idol photo.
41. Re-gifted Mystery Box
Find a box and fill it with amusingly unrelated items like a single chopstick, a CD of elevator music, or a tiny notebook labeled “My Deepest Secrets.” Include a note about the curse of the never-ending re-gift.
42. Awkward Trophy
Purchase a cheap trophy and replace the plaque with something like “Most Dramatic Eye Roll” or “Quickest Texter in the West.”
43. ‘Haunted’ Gingerbread House
Construct a gingerbread house with over-the-top Halloween decorations, tilted walls, and a sign that reads “Haunted. Enter if you dare!”
Navigating the teenage years may sometimes feel like walking through a maze blindfolded, but with this list of hilarious and affordable white elephant gifts, you’re set to become the best comic gift giver of the holiday season! Remember, the joy of a white elephant exchange is rooted in the laughter and unexpected surprises, not the price tags.
These gifts are not just funny and affordable; they’re gateways to creating memories that your teen will cherish and laugh about for years to come. So, here’s to embracing the fun, celebrating the silliness, and proving that parents, yes, even those of teenagers, still have an unbeatable knack for nailing gift-giving!
If you want to get even more laughs out of them, check out these funny jokes for teens!
Mom to teens with lots of ideas and inspiration to share for travel, food, parties, school & fun!