White elephant game is the way to go, especially for large families. Instead of buying 30 cheap gifts for 30 people we can buy something nice and may the odds be in everyone's favor.My family and I have worked all of this out. On my in law side they do a white elephant folks wrap a $10 and its more about he game than the gift. On my side they only buy my kids a gift which is normally an experience. We are all adults. We are all comfortable and in need of nothing. WE dont need trinkets and doo dads that we dont want or need. We dont want a bunch of clutter and would rather everyone by themselves something they want or need than I buy you something you dont want I buy you something you dont want.
Apparently you bought them something they didnt need. I think its cool that they acknowledged the gift and let you know that they appreciated it but were going to pass on to someone who was in need. I think thats a win win
It's fun, gets the whole family involved in a game, even if you end up with some gag gift or something you don't need, if you have a good family you will have had a ton of laughs by the end of the game so that's the real present.