why is it called a white elephant gift

It’s called a “white elephant” gift because it comes from an old idea of a rare white elephant being a prestigious but burdensome possession: impressive to own, but costly, impractical, and hard to get rid of. Over time, that image turned into a phrase for any gift that is more trouble than it’s worth, which fits the silly, unwanted presents traded in modern white elephant gift exchanges.

Quick Scoop

• A white elephant was once seen as a sacred, royal-status animal in parts of Southeast Asia, especially in the kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand).
• Legends say that being “gifted” one could ruin you financially because you had to care for it but could not put it to work or sell it.
• The phrase “white elephant” later became English slang for something impressive-looking but useless or burdensome.
• Holiday “white elephant gift” exchanges borrow that idea: the gifts are usually impractical, funny, or tacky—things you don’t really need and might not want, but that are fun to pass around and “stuck” with someone at the end.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.