If you've ever wondered if The Clapper works as great as the commercial is or if the ShamWow! really can clean up all of that water then consider hosting a White Elephant gift exchange holiday party this year with a fun twist - As Seen On TV products. Check out party details after the jump.
Host An "As Seen On TV" Gift Exchange This Holiday Season
RULES FOR THE WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE:
1) Ask your guests to bring a wrapped and unlabeled As Seen on TV gift. You can select a category and a price point - say household products for $30 and under.
2) All participants will draw a number (from a hat, perhaps) to determine their order.
3) The participant with #1 unwraps any gift from the pile and then shows it to everyone. Each successive participant, in the order determined from the drawing, can either 1) "steal" an already opened gift (if there's one they really like) or 2) be adventurous and go for a wrapped gift from the pile. If the participant chooses to steal, the person whose gift is stolen now repeats their turn and either 1) steals another person's gift (they cannot immediately steal back the gift that was just stolen from them) or 2) unwraps a new gift.
4) Since items can be stolen, the item in your possession is not yours until the game is over. However, this is often amended with a rule declaring a gift "dead" or "safe" after it has been stolen a certain number of times (usually two or three). This helps the process go more smoothly (avoiding, for example, the hypothetical scenario of the same gift being stolen by every successive participant) and limits the disadvantage of being among the first to choose gifts.
Here are a few household items that could be fabulous As Seen On TV gifts:
What As Seen On TV product would you love to unwrap at a holiday gift exhange?
Check out more entertaining ideas from Apartment Therapy here:
Comments (11)
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I've never bought anything from TV before, but I really really want a shamwow! It looks amazing.
view betabethany's profile
It looks kind of fun - I've certainly been curious about some of those items - but it also looks like a lot more packaging and plastic in a landfill for something you don't really need. The whole point of white elephant exchanges is that you don't have to buy anything, isn't it?
view jellyroll's profile
I need a tub of OxyClean, some of that Mighty Mendit fabric glue, one of those Pro-Caulk Kits - Oh! - and a set of Debbie Meyer Green Bags...
...and some Space Bags to keep all that crap in.
view bepsf's profile
Sham Wow commercials make me laugh!
"This last 10 years, this lasts a week! I dunno! It sells itself!!"
hilarious! I want one.
view revolution9's profile
Target has end caps in the appliance aisle that feature As Seen on TV products for sale.
view Seaside's profile
One of the many things I love in the Sham Wow commercial is the line that goes something like
'why spend $20 a week on paper towels"
Does anyone really spend that much?!?!
view Grumpy Girl's profile
the sham wow works and i love it
view digital_eyecandy's profile
This is a helpful site if you aren't sure if that product is as fantastic as it looks on a middle-of-the-night infomercial: http://www.as-seen-on-tv-reviews.net/
And if you are looking for a great white elephant gift, look no further than Barry Manilow's new CD "The Greatest Songs of the 80's" including:
“Islands in the Stream” duet with Reba McEntire
“Open Arms”
“Never Gonna Give You Up”
“Have I Told You Lately”
“I Just Called to Say I Love You”
“Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)”
“Careless Whisper”
“Right Here Waiting”
“Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)”
“Hard to Say I'm Sorry”
“Time After Time”
“I've Had the Time of My Life”
The ad on tv for it looks like a parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64YoqchLVAY
view LilyC's profile
Whatever you do, don't buy those Stick and Click lights. The adhesive is weak and the light will fall down soon after suspending it (I'm talking several hours to a day). And since they have no place to hook or hang them, you have to sit them on a surface to light upwards. Not helpful.
view Gideon's profile
LilyC, that Barry Manilow CD makes me ashamed to be hearing-enabled.
view hejiranyc's profile
Most of that stuff is available now at drug stores like Walgreens and CVS. No shipping. Some of it seems worth it, some not.
view SherryBinNH's profile