What does a crocheted poodle bottle cover, a wool dryer ball and a spooky Halloween decoration have in common? Not a whole lot.
However, when local residents unwrapped them, they all responded with laughter and delight. To them, it was the perfect white elephant gift.
Gift exchanges have been favorable activities among friends, businesses and families to share in the joy of the holiday season and get some unique, hilarious and nice gifts to boot. These unique presents have brought happiness to their recipients and their givers.
For Irene Foster, the scary Halloween woman figurine was a white elephant gift that became quite popular for First Tuesday of the month Book Club, in which she has been a member for 20 years. JoAnn Mohler gathered her seven girlfriends, who all worked at the Capitol at some point, at Ecco Lounge for a burger and suggested they start a book club, much like one her daughter had joined. Initially, the club met once a month, but it has met every Tuesday for about 10 years at various restaurants, reading and discussing a variety of books, including their favorites like "The Shack" and anything by Dorothea Benton Frank.
Prior to the white elephant exchange, FTBC members used to spend $5-$10 on a nice gift for the swap. Their now 15-year annual white elephant tradition has led to some hilarious and memorable presents that have become treasures among the friends, like the Halloween decoration.
Member Nadine Barrows purchased that gift at 75 percent off for $1.50, and Foster first received it in the swap five years ago.
"I loved it and did not want to part with her," Foster said. "She has been passed around three times over the years. We all thought she was a hoot. I kept her for two years and regifted her (at the FTBC party Dec. 7). I'm sure she'll return!"
Many of the FTBC's white elephant gifts return from time to time including an apron that reads, "Three Wise Men Are You Serious?" and a rubber ducky nun, which Foster bought for the exchange 15 years ago to pay homage to Mohler (referred to Mother Superior for founding the book club). It showed up at this year's party after a five-year absence.
Regifting is a leading idea for many gift exchanges, and the best white elephant gift Betsy Branstetter ever received was regifted from her daughter Sunny. Branstetter uses wool dryer balls while doing laundry and sometimes they get lost in the clothes. She usually manages to find them, except for a dryer ball that vanished one spring.
"I turned the whole house upside down looking for my purple ball. No success," she said. "The next Christmas, I opened my gift from Sunny and there it was. It seems she got it tangled up in her flannel sheets, which she had switched out in the spring for her summer sheets. What a surprise!"
Ann Rackers also had quite a surprise in the early '90s when a peculiar item she thought was sold at a family garage sale resurfaced. When her husband's grandmother passed away, she and David received a crocheted poodle whiskey bottle cover the more than 90-year-old woman had made.
"She made wedding cakes for all the family our age, and she made several wonderful crochet pieces. This piece was pretty and had beautiful work on it. But I don't know why she made it, and I don't know why we got it, but we did," Rackers said with a laugh.
Rackers placed the poodle bottle cover in a family garage sale, but her children did not want such a wonderful piece sold. Without their mother knowing, they kept it and told her it was sold.
"The next Christmas, I received the poodle as a gift," she said. "Now whenever they have a chance to buy one at a garage sale or wherever, they picked them up and guess who received another beautiful wrapped gift. My white elephant that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving, and giving "
That tradition started in 1992, and her six children picked up crocheted poodle bottle covers in a variety of colors and other items, such as a poodle shaped platter and a poodle tissue holder. Some of Rackers' poodles often went on trips with her children and grandchildren, and she has a folder full of postcards and photos from their adventures.
"One of my daughters' friends took the poodle to Portland, Oregon, and I have another postcard from a poodle at the Alamo. There is one from the Royal George in Colorado with the poodle sitting on the stone," Rackers said. "There was one that shows the poodle playing with a little girl on the airplane, and others from the Badlands and beaches - just everywhere. I have so many pictures and postcards, and I get a lot of laughs looking at all of these."
The children and 13 grandchildren gave their grandma and family members poodles during their holiday gift exchange for about 10 years, then the tradition died down. Now with the grandchildren having 10 children among them, Rackers knows they have been preoccupied.
As they have done in years past, the Rackers family won't worry about a personal gift exchange this year. Instead, the family is buying presents for a man who has cancer and his family, adopting them after arrangements made by Rackers' granddaughter, a nurse at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. However, Rackers keeps a few of her furry friends stashed for future family gift exchanges.
"Everybody buys a gift - a boy for a boy and a girl for a girl - allowing someone to easily slip (a poodle) in. Every once and awhile, one will show up," she said. "I have about a dozen left, and some are scattered throughout the house. There are a few I have hidden, waiting for payback time."
For FTBC members, the return of a white elephant gift is a true delight, like two items that reemerged at this year's party - a 4-year-old pair of dancing legs and a "hillbilly" purse Jeanette DeLaTorre made from a pair of men's briefs 10 years ago. For Foster, the best gift for an exchange or swap is anything that makes you giggle or is homemade.
"Also anything that returns after a few years absence. Things like the S & H green stamp book brings back good memories for those of us who can remember," she said. "I would advise to get something cheap, ugly and fun. The joy in white elephant gift giving is making someone laugh out loud."