Wow..most of the Yankee Swaps I have done are 5 to 10 dollars. I usually get a nice ornament for the tree. For that amount of money, maybe a nice ornament and a gift certificate to a special resturant in your area.

Can I ask, is this a family swap or a work or club swap?

Family swap....and I agree the dollar amounts are ridiculous but it's usally a $100 in this family!!

I take it that a Yankee Swap is like a white elephant swap but with nice presents?
tammy

A gift certificate to a special resturant. This is my husband's favorite gift to receive.

How about a very special dinner wine?

A gift certificate to a large department store.

At bed, bath & beyond they have a great 6 piece wine opener set. It is $10 and the best opener I have ever used. (I bought 4 as gifts this year!). Put in a nice tote bag with a bottle (or 2) of wine and some other extras: candle, CD, snacks, etc. It would make a nice giftbag full of useful items that can easily be shared if the recipient isn't a wine fan. Have fun!

wow $50.00, we use to do the 100.00 & 50.00 but enough was enough, so we opt for 30.00 for the past couple of years. It is family and we do the yankee swap. We try to have it be a unisex item so either male or female will enjoy it. This year DH picked out a set of craftmans screwdrivers -sale 10.00 (ended up buying me a set also for crafts LOL), our son picked out a nice birdhouse, and I picked out a gift box of handmade soaps (made locally). We try to get things we would like to get and each of us picks out our own to swap. With 50.00 there is a much wider selection that you could choose from.Just make it fun & give something you would like to get as you never know.....it is a yankee swap!

I've been involved in a Yankee swap with my family for years and have decided to do it also with my friends for the past 3 years. With my family we choose a gift that's around $30.00, But with my friends we all agreed with children and finances so low we would do a "GAG" Gift yankee swap. We find the funniest things that range from $1.00 to $10.00 and have a great time!!!! The funnier the gift the better!

We did this last year as we joined my new neice by marriage and her family on CHristmas Eve. They had a range of $25 to $50. The idea being that you should spend at least 25, but most were actually 50 or more. I know that most of the 50 ones were probably the half off sales.

The men all brought something for a man and the women something for a woman or of course something unisex. I was amazed at the variety of things from power tools, firepits, electric appliance grills, stereo stuff, etc.

We are doing this type of thing within our own family this year since it was such a hit. I am still looking for the perfect things to carry. DH is picking out his own to take.

Last year I took a large basket of Bath and Body Works. I didn't buy one of their pre=made baskets. I got a pretty basket of my own and then filled it with lots more items than I could have if I would have bought a pre-made basket.