I needed a gift for a “white elephant gift exchange.” I’m not quite sure where this terminology came from as it has nothing to do with elephants! 😉
To me, it means to re-gift something I received and don’t need or perhaps, give something “creative.”
I decided on a little silly fun this year and created this one-of-a-kind gift!
A “Caroler” in a former life that I purchased at a thrift store years ago, I made him into a quirky guy that loves the lake!
It was super fun to create a poem to go with him… I will get to that later in this post.
This silly guy actually moves – his head slowly turns in circles and his right arm moves up and down when he is plugged in to an outlet. A little weird, I must say!
I started by giving him an old cup for a hat and taped a bird on top. The bird house came next. On the back, I added this “key” message (from a candy wrapper):
He needed a beach towel, so I cut-up an old wash cloth and sewed the outside edges. I used a paper napkin to represent “happy hour” where friends gather to share an appetizer and a drink as you can see in my first photo.
Below, I created a fishing pole from an old paint brush and beads – including a bead for a fish:
He needed a little summer outfit so I sewed some fabric to give him some pizzazz and cover up that ugly green outfit he was wearing – who says men can’t wear skirts!! Hahaha!
I finished him, by adding a Christmas ornament of a chair, a rubber stamp image of an image in the woods and writing a message on the base:
Below is one of the stanzas I wrote for my poem to the song, “Over The River And Through The Woods.”
Over the river and through the woods
We look forward to each year…
The memories we make
At this beautiful lake
Are the treasures we hold dear.
I look forward to seeing who receives my creative surprise… I encourage you to “think outside the box” when you give a gift!
Cheers! 🙂
Oh how clever! I’m sure it will be a hit!!!
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Thanks Jodi, I had fun using what I had around the house to “decorate” him…hehe! 😄👍
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Fun! Sure to encourage smiles!! (K)
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Oh, yes and a laugh or two! 😄 It is a fun group of people! 🎄 Enjoy your day, Kerfe!
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So creative Jill. This little Caroler will be the gift that makes the rounds. I love white elephant gifting parties. Have fun.
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Hi Sharon, thank you – it will be a fun time with lots of laughter! 😃
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He’s something! Really neat and super creative Jill. How many times can you steal a gift in your White Elephant Exchange? I wonder how many times he’ll be stolen and who finally gets to keep him?
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Hi Deborah, people can steal gifts twice in our gift exchange but no one stole him…But our group sang the 5 verses of the song I wrote – that was fun. One person recorded it. 😃🎵 I told the person who got him that he needed to add to it or change something for next year’s exchange! 🎄🐘
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🙂 So glad to hear you had a fun evening. I wonder if your character will return changed next year?
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I sure hope so! 😄
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This is so crazy cute Jill! Talk about a conversation piece! I hope whoever got him appreciates your creativity and sense of humor!! Love it!
Jenna
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Thank you, Jenna! 😄 Yes, I think he was a hit! 😊👍 I had so fun decorating him… and writing the song to go with him. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what others think when you have so much fun! Lol! 🤣
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