There are a lot of competing ideas as to what a white elephant gift exchange really is. The origins of the term “white elephant” point to one definition: According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. It was a far more devious punishment than simply having them executed. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin.While that story is almost certainly untrue, it can inform one approach to the white elephant gift exchange: gifting something just useful or amusing enough that it won’t immediately get tossed into the trash, but is also somewhat of a burden. However, every workpla [...]
This time of year has a lot of merry and bright things to be excited about, but it can be stressful if you’re stumped on what to get your mom, dad, best friend, coworker or kids’ teacher as a holi [...]
This time of year has a lot of merry and bright things to be excited about, but it can be stressful if you’re stumped on what to get your mom, dad, best friend, coworker or kids’ teacher as a holi [...]