Are you referring to a White Elephant/Gag Gift Exchange where you can choose a wrapped gift or steal someone else's gift and they go get another one? If that's the case, the idea is to give something funny that few people would want. If you want to give a flashlight, just get some sort of Disney or other kid's light based on a character or movie/cartoon. Giving kid's toys at an event for adults will get a laugh, and they can always give it to their kids. Solar powered flashlights also work. I just went to a White Elephant gift exchange so I'll give you a list of gifts that have been given and got a good laugh. Here they are:
a can of dog food, an can opener, and a spoon
coal in a bag labeled "From Santa"
adult diapers
a giant road cone
a remote controlled fart machine (person giving it clicked the remote each time someone bent over to get a gift- it was me that had the remote)
ropelights
cat toys
window mounted doll that dropped it's pants when you pulled a string (it was called a mooney)
live crickets (don't use this gift at an office party)
a plastic, hollow candy cane filled with rocks with one piece of candy at the bottom
humorous calendars
a book called "How to Sh*t in the Woods"
a book called "What Shat That?"
a book called "How to cook everything", a brick, and an eraser
freeze dried food
giant stuffed animals
plastic poop
Funny or embarrassing pictures of friends or coworkers in a frame
workout videos
bad or funny looking movies
a children's book called "Everybody poops"
a White Elephant doll
an ash tray
wind up candy dispensers that poop candy (one was called "Oh Dear")
an ugly tie
Official Fart Chart T-shirt
a case of Monster energy drinks with all the liquid emptied out (holes were poked in the bottom of each can so it looked like a brand new, unopened case)
a roll of trick toilet paper (below the first one or two wraps, most of the T.P. is gone except for about a 1/2 an inch wide on each side to give the illusion of a full roll while all the rest has been cut out) and a can of beans
huge men's underwear
women's panties and bras
rectal pills
an enema kit