White Elephant Gift Ideas

Google Cardboard is a virtual reality headset for the poor man. It doesn’t deliver a state-of-the-art VR experience like the popular Oculus, but it will give a taste of what’s possible with VR and what’s coming. It’s a foldable cardboard housing with two lenses that uses a smart phone for a screen. There are a range of apps, games and videos available for these devices which provide a rudimentary 3D and immersive experience. For example, you can ride dizzying virtual roller coasters and examine the virtual world as you move your head around. The technology has a long way to go but it’s fun to play around with for awhile, and it’s certainly a gift that will be traded and stolen in your white elephant exchange.

According to Dr. Dean Pomerleau of R2 Fish School, whose fish holds the Guinness World Record for largest repertoire of tricks, almost any fish that is 1-6 inches in length can be trained. This kit contains step by step instructions that teach you how to use food rewards to train fish to perform ridiculous and entertaining feats. Teach a goldfish to play fetch, shoot hoops, swim the slalom, limbo dance, play soccer and more. Includes a 45 minute DVD, special feeding wand, training field, base platform, and more fish training paraphernalia.

This purrfect white elephant gift is sure to be stolen by the die hard crafter or crazy cat lady in your group. Great for those in need of a new hobby or the person who is always covered in cat hair anyway. Crafting With Cat Hair teaches the resourceful cat owner how to turn fur balls into all kinds of handmade goods from itchy finger puppets to bristly change purses. This fascinating book was voted ‘Best of the Month’ by Amazon, which is nothing to sneeze at.

If cat people are part of your white elephant group, the CitiKitty cat toilet training kit is a perfect gift. It’s sure to lead to some great stories and photos when put into use, regardless of success or failure. And who wouldn’t want to have toilet trained pets? Any cat owner knows what a pain it is to maintain a litter box, and apparently once cats learn to use the toilet they prefer it. Cats use their litter boxes because they instinctively want to cover the scent of their cat business from predators. Once they use CitiKitty they discover that the water in the toilet does an even better job at masking the odor and they will abandon the litter box. That’s the theory anyway.

If there’s one thing every dog and cat loves, it’s a fresh coat of paint. Why not spruce up your black lab with a skunk stripe? Maybe a nice purple would make your Poodle really pop. Perhaps your Yorkie doesn’t match your outfit. Now you can add some pizazz to your pets with spray-on Pet Paint. The product is safe for animals to lick, dries very quickly, and won’t rub off on furniture. The non-toxic colored hair spray is veterinarian and PETA approved and washes clean with warm soapy water.

Mberry Miracle Fruit Tablets are truly a party in your mouth. They temporarily alter your taste perception, completely changing what food tastes like. I’ve tried these before and it was a really fun experiment. The tablets make lemons taste as sweet as oranges, take the heat out of hot sauces, and make beer taste like chocolate candy. You can even drink vinegar and enjoy it like apple juice. It’s such a strange experience to eat something familiar but with a completely new flavor. After an hour or so everything is back to normal.

LunarLand has been selling deeds to acreage on the moon since 1980. According to their website, The UN Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prevents any government from owning extraterrestrial land but allows individuals and companies to claim land the way that early US settlers did. Whether or not your Moon Deed will hold up in lunar court is another question. It certainly makes a memorable white elephant gift and will likely be traded multiple times. Lunar land is available in packages of 1-100 acres. The company also sells deeds for land on Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter’s IO moon.

Crickets aren’t just for lizards anymore! Humans can now enjoy the rich flavor of these protein and calcium-rich insects with a variety of cricket-based foods. Chapul Cricket Energy Bars are made with cricket flour and come in flavors like the Aztec Bar (dark chocolate, coffee and cayenne), the Chaco Bar (peanut butter and chocolate), the Matcha Bar (green tea, goji berry, and nori) and the Thai Bar (coconut, ginger, and lime).

By using sensors that detect the electrical impulses of neurons firing in your brain, these creepy cat ears automatically move based on your mood and thoughts. They perk up when you’re focused, droop when you’re sleepy, and flick when you’re interested in something. Perfect for people who have trouble verbalizing their emotions. This product brings cutting edge technology to the average weirdo where it belongs. Amazingly, they do actually work.

Bitcoins are an awesome twist on giving the gift of money. They’re exotic and exciting to those who have never used Bitcoin, and will likely be one of the most stolen gifts in your white elephant exchange. Exchanging funds is easy for two people that are already set up to use bitcoins, but can be a bit confusing for first-timers. To simplify things you can give people a bitcoin gift card or printed voucher, which will have their bitcoin address and private key. You can even email people bitcoin certificates with instructions on how to claim them.