White elephant gift ideas for the office, coworkers, friends and family.
Office white elephant. A funny Secret Santa gift for the coworker you drew. The friend-group swap that gets planned in the group chat. The family one where your brother-in-law steals everything. Yankee swap, Dirty Santa — whatever your crowd calls it. Then a desk pet for whoever walks out with it.
What the best white elephant gifts under $20 have in common.
Quirky gifts win the round. Quirky gifts that are actually good get stolen. Here's the checklist — we happen to tick it.
The rule of the game: the good gift changes hands three times. A little face with a vase and the promise of hair does that. A candle does not.
The gag gift gets one laugh and a drawer. This one gets a laugh at the party, a name in the group chat on the drive home and a haircut the following Friday.
$12.49. That clears a $15 cap, a $20 cap and a $25 cap, with change for a bow.
Eight personalities, one in each box. Which one shows up is a surprise to you, too — which makes the reveal the second-best moment of the night, after the steal.
It arrives bald. Here's the first week on the desk.
Real grass, real haircuts. Timestamped, untouched, straight from the kitchen counter — the office windowsill works the same.
Which of the eight will show up?
Eight little personalities. Every box is a surprise — to the giver as much as the getter.
After the party: a desk pet that gets haircuts.
The part the mug can't do.
One Growbie in its own printed box: the little friend, a clear vase, a wick and a name card. Add water — that's the whole setup. No soil, no pot, no instructions longer than the box.
Park it where there's light, keep the vase topped up. Thirty seconds a day — less attention than the office plant, and it survives the weekend without a rota.
First trim by about day 7. Then it's a standing Friday appointment: mohawk, bob, the flat-top for the quarterly review. Post the before-and-after and tag @MeetGrowbies.
Trim it and it regrows — about a month of strong, styleable growth, then a slower, quieter retirement. No cut is a mistake.
Pick your exchange gift.
One for the swap. Four for four swaps — and that one ships free.
What's in the box
One Growbie in its own printed box: the little friend, a clear vase, a wick and a name card. Add water — that's the whole setup. The box front shows which personality is inside; which of the eight you get is the surprise. A 4-Pack is four boxes, four different personalities.
Shipping & returns
Ships in 1–2 business days from our US warehouse. Free US shipping on orders over $25 — the 4-Pack and up ship free; a Single on its own ships for $7.50, so it's $19.99 to your door. 30-day returns on unopened packs. US shipping only.
The happy-grow guarantee
Doesn't grow? We send a new one — no receipt, no questions. The guarantee follows the Growbie, not the buyer, so whoever stole it at the end of the night is covered. How the Happy Grow Guarantee works →
Safety & age
WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD — Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.
Ages 3+. Adult supervision recommended for trimming. Contains viable grass seed — not for consumption.
White elephant gifts under $20 — or $25. Same little friend.
Under $20: the Single is $12.49. Add standard shipping and it lands at $19.99 to your door — still under the cap, with the receipt to prove it.
For a $25 white elephant gift exchange: same Single, plus room for wrapping paper and a bow.
Four exchanges (office, family, friends, the one you forgot): the 4-Pack is $39, four different personalities, $9.75 a gift, ships free.
A whole team: the 16-Pack is $99 — $6.19 a gift — and comes in a tear-open display you can put straight on the table.
White elephant questions, answered.
Does it fit a white elephant gift under $20? Under $25?
Yes to both. The Single is $12.49. Add standard shipping and it's $19.99 to your door — under a $20 cap, and under $25 with room for a bow. Buying for more than one exchange? The 4-Pack is $39 — $9.75 a gift — and ships free.
Will it arrive before the party?
It ships in 1–2 business days from our US warehouse, to US addresses — order on a weekday and it's usually on the doorstep well before the party. Cutting it close? Order the 4-Pack now and the extras become next year's problem — happily solved.
Can I wrap it? Does it come gift-ready?
Yes. Every Growbie comes in its own little printed box, about the size of a coffee mug — wrap it, bag it or ribbon it. We'd wrap it: the box front shows the face, and half the fun is the reveal. The box also says "water me!", which saves you writing a card.
I'm buying it in November for a party in December. Does it keep?
It does. Nothing starts until the Growbie meets water. Keep the box dry and at room temperature — a desk drawer is perfect — and it'll wait for its moment.
Is it office-safe? Soil, smell, allergies?
No soil. The head is fabric filled with a natural mineral and real ryegrass seed, and it sits on a clear vase of water — the only thing that can spill is water, and it doesn't smell. It's quieter than the office plant and needs less than the office fish. If someone at the desk has a grass allergy, treat it like a lawn: a trim keeps the hair short and tidy.
We need gifts for the whole team — 4, 16 or 32?
Four people: the 4-Pack, $39, four different personalities, ships free. Up to sixteen: the 16-Pack, $99 — $6.19 each, two of each personality in a tear-open display you can put straight on the table and let people pick. Up to thirty-two: the 32-Pack, $169, $5.28 each. Bigger floor than that? Message us and we'll sort it out.
Ages 3+ is on the box — are these kids' toys or funny white elephant gifts for adults?
Funny white elephant gifts for adults that happen to pass the toy rules. The ages-3+ line is the small-parts rule and it stays on every box because the rules say so; the people stealing it at the party are grown-ups, and so is whoever ends up with it on their monitor. Works for the kids' table too — just keep it from the under-3s and hand a grown-up the scissors.
What if it doesn't grow?
Every Growbie is backed by our happy-grow guarantee: if it doesn't sprout, we send a free replacement. No receipt needed. The guarantee follows the Growbie, not the buyer — so whoever won it in the final steal is covered. How it works →
Bring the gift that gets stolen.
One little friend. One small box. The round everyone will still be talking about at the next one.
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