White Elephant. Yankee Swap. The super original “gift exchange.” Whatever you call it, it can be a lot of fun and a quick way to waste $20.
So why not have fun with it? If you get invited to a TU or fly shop holiday party, you can bring something that brings the seasonal heat. Especially if you are able to operate in anonymity, you have the opportunity to make some memories or at least ruin someone’s evening. A bunch of hand-tied flies is nice. Summer sausage is a hit. You could buy a really nice 4-pack of beer. Or, you could take my advice.
Each one of these carefully curated gift choices all fall within the reasonable gift exchange limit of $20. But note: prices in the links may change and/or be the victims of inflation. So please, make sure you do your research lest you perpetrate a great holiday party foul
Here’s 8 ideas, all at or under $20.
For a tiny leg up at Pyramid Lake, or any other body of water where three feet will really make the difference.
Few things will troll the catch and release crowd like live bait. So go big: give them the chance to grow their own live bait.
A Gift Card
…to a premium fly rod company. For $20, maybe they’ll be able to get a sticker and cover S&H.
It is guaranteed to stay in the possession of whoever opened it. And it is guaranteed to not make it home.
Maybe more offensive than the worms, a creel defies the fly fishing crowd’s ethic. Plus a non-wicker model doesn’t even have decorative value.
The only function where one can wear such a thing is the very function where one receives such a thing.
Get it! A joke. They payoff is a lifetime supply of cough drops.
The most controversial of them all: a small bat for killing fish. Whoever opens this will not think it is funny.
Remember: the holidays are about important things like faith, family, and food. But holiday parties? Those are about eking out a few cheap laughs.