The other day I was in the store Mixed Bag on K street in Sacramento (where everything they sell is small–it’s ingenious. You pick this $5 item, this $6 item, next thing you know you’re up at the cash register dropping $150 bucks and you can’t figure out how!)–a woman comes up to the counter asking for help, “Do you think this will work for my white elephant gift?” displaying a hideous item she’s found on one of the shelves.
The shopkeeper and I exchange quick glances. Um, isn’t the point of the white elephant that you’re giving away something that you didn’t want but maybe someone else would? Are you supposed to go out and deliberately pay good money to buy something that you think the recipient would hate?
In my community, every year a different “lucky” cohouser takes home the same horrible garlic roaster from the white elephant gift exchange. Until now I’ve assumed that the original purchaser of the item thought it was a nice gift, but now I begin to wonder…