Woman’s Unconventional White Elephant Gift Has Her Friend Group and the Internet ‘Losing It’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jayne Vecchio with her white elephant chicken gift.Photo:Jayne Vecchio

Jayne Vecchio

One woman’segg-cellentwhite elephant present is encouraging people to think of more out-of-the-box gift ideas.

WhenJayne Vecchioand her friends — whom she met through stand-up comedy in the North Carolina area where she lives — planned a white elephant party this year, she knew they’d react well to a silly, unconventional gift. So, she brainstormed ideas for what this could be.

To get some inspiration, the dietitian, yoga instructor and stand-up comedian consulted her college girlfriends' group text. The first and only suggestion, she says, was nothing other than a rotisserie chicken.

“I burst out laughing and KNEW this would be a hit,” Vecchio, 30, tells PEOPLE, recalling hearing the idea for the first time.

Jayne Vecchio buying the chicken.Jayne Vecchio

After keeping the idea a secret for about a week — which she describes as the “longest week ever” — the day of the party finally arrived. Vecchio headed to the Harris Teeter grocery store, just a few minutes from her home, to buy the rotisserie chicken.

When thinking about how to wrap the gift, Vecchio initially opted for a festive gift bag. But she didn’t like how it looked, so instead, she wrapped the chicken in tissue paper and placed it in a box she had saved from an Amazon package.

“Then I wrapped the box, tied it with a sparkly bow, and placed it immediately back in the fridge until game time,” she says. “My boyfriend was very perplexed as to why there was a wrapped gift in the fridge.”

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Jayne Vecchio with her friends at the white elephant party.Jayne Vecchio

When party time arrived, less than an hour into the evening, the group of friends began the white elephant game. Throughout the night, Vecchio tells PEOPLE she kept a close eye on the clock to ensure the rotisserie chicken wouldn’t sit out at room temperature for too long.

Eventually, her friend Bobo De Liscious was the first to pick a gift from under the tree, and she chose Vecchio’s gift.

“I chuckled when Bobo chose the wrapped rotisserie chicken because, when I bought it, I had an idea in the back of my mind that if she picked it, she would have the most incredible reaction,” Vecchio says. “Bobo is an amazing cook and our token foodie of the group. I knew she’d appreciate the humor and surprise of this gift.”

“The moment she discovered it was a rotisserie chicken, the entire group LOST it,” she adds. “We all were laughing so hard. My face hurt. Bobo’s reaction was the most memorable reaction I’ve ever seen to receiving a gift. Her pure joy was captured perfectly. We will remember this as a group for the rest of our lives.”

“I will admit I was visibly stressed when she started shaking the gift to try to guess what was inside, for fear of chicken juices getting everywhere!” she continues.

“I did receive a lot of concerns about the food safety of the rotisserie chicken,” she adds. “I ended up addressing this with a follow-up video to ensure ServSafe temperature guidelines were maintained throughout the entire process of this gift exchange.”

After the exchange, De Liscious posted a video on herTikTok, showing off what she did with the chicken after receiving it, which included eating it.

“She absolutely nailed her take,” Vecchio says.

Looking back on this experience, Vecchio shares a few words of advice for people debating what to bring to their white elephant parties this year, or in the future.

“Make sure it’s funny,” she says. “Just kidding. Anything goes. Literally anything under the sun. Read the vibe of your audience and get creative!”

“The simplest things can bring the most joy,” she adds.

source: people.com