White Elephant Gift Shopping : Pomander, Potpourri, and Paperweights

Holiday gift shopping?  Looking for white elephant gift ideas that don't come across as cheap and tacky?

Pomander comes from the French word "pomamber" and from Old French, "pomme d'embre" (apple of amber). Pomanders started out as small cloth bags that people either wore to hide body odor, or hung in a room to mask unpleasant smells. ...

The cloth bags are still around, though people generally don’t wear them any more. ( – Too obvious?) ...

Paperweights used to be kept in kings’ treasure vaults. They are hardly ever returned or re-gifted. Some are even valuable collectibles. They make the perfect gift for a loyal employee or favorite teacher, etc.

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Pomanders and Potpourri

Fun Fact:
A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. The term derives from the story that the kings of Siam, now Thailand, were accustomed to make a present of one of these animals to courtiers who had rendered themselves obnoxious, in order to ruin the recipient by the cost of its maintenance. In modern usage, it is an object, building project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc., considered expensive but without use or value.^{[Wikipedia Note 1]}


Here's a thought. Why not buy a white elephant as a white elephant gift Nobody has ever given me a white elephant. :)