I have a gift swap and I usually am boring and get a Christmas decoration from TJ Maxx.
I like these Taza hot chocolate disks. https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Mexicano-Variety-Certified-Organic/dp/B0088OSAZ2
Melt the chocolate in the microwave and foam with milk or milk-like product of your choice. Yummy cocoas with some different flavors.
A nice cheese board and utensils; a dip dish set…things that one would use to entertain.
How about some kind of craft/artsy bookmark? (It is a book group?) Last year I got a very lovely bookmark from somebody in my bookgroup and I adore it.
One year I hit the party store and put together an emergency stocking kit for four: 4 each of several different trinkets. The colleague who ended up with it was thrilled. Her kids loved the loot. Depending on the items, that could easily have been an emergency Hanukkah kit.
I’ve never expected to actually like a gift I’ve received from a gift swap. In the last one, I got a ladle shaped like “Nessie” the Loch Ness Monster . 
If it’s something I like and can use, that’s a bonus. Getting together and swapping is the part I enjoy. I wouldn’t stress over it, OP.
We often have $10 grab bags. I have given food (candy, cookies, Godiva, truffles, almond rica, etc), knife set, charging cord set for android, Costco lap blankets. Each time all my gifts have been stolen a few times, so I think they’re popular. You have to know your group.
Yoga mat was not popular, nor was very nice water bottle, fancy chopsticks, tea set. Gift cards or cash + food or other item was popular.
I will get my kids to help me figure out what to use this year.
Agree about how we all view this differently- a nice dish/bar towel or pretty note pads would not be a “dud” to me but a candle, or hand cream , body lotion type things would be. That is the problem with gift swap type things- unless you know who a gift is going to, it is very easy to give something totally useless to the recipient.
If the gift swap premise is that people can “steal” a gift they want (I actually hate those scenarios!) then I wouldn’t over think it - it’s not like the gift you buy will have to please just one person - just one person in the group!
I’m a fan of Williams Sonoma. I like their gift towels, aprons, wood utensils, colored colanders. (I’ve given all these as gifts). I like nice Sox, the ones with the grip on the bottom.
That being said, the only gift I have ever kept from these gift exchanges is food items. Maybe next year I’ll get big boxes of costco’s Reese’s peanut butter cups .
^ OMG! Those are my favorite!
You obviously travel in more affluent circles than I do. Limit for my church group is $5. I gave a fancy shower cap. Lots of candles. (SIGH. I got one. I’m allergic to most scents.) One of the best-liked gifts was a “necklace” of Christmas tree lights that lit up. Note cards and stationery were also popular. A festive, but cheap wine glass was a good gift.
How about a game like Scrabble or Bananagrams or cards/card games like Ono? A friend was confined to her house for 12 weeks last summer and I sent a few games as she was sick of reading, talking, or being on the computer. It might be nice to introduce a book club person to a new game.
How about a battery powered wine opener? Most of the ladies love wine.
I got my sister a battery powered wine opener a few Christmases ago and she has yet to figure it out! Know your audience!
The braided thread kit mentioned in the stocking thread, plus some other travel accessories? I’ve been giving these out this year and they’ve been warmly received.
Oh yeah, Global Mamas — cute little purse in fabric about $20, for fun.
How about a little Baggallini? TJ Maxx carries them - I think you might find a small crossbody for around $20. Or her is an Amazon option. https://www.amazon.com/Baggallini-RFID-Flap-Wristlet-Hibiscus/dp/B078BYX8W1/ref=sr_1_6?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1543198120&sr=1-6&nodeID=15743631&psd=1&refinements=p_4%3ABaggallini&th=1
Costco has a cute leather crossbody for $19.99. Packing cubes for folks who travel?
Can you include a gift receipt so the gift can be returned? I hate to say it…but so far…no one has mentioned anything I would want to have.
I would prefer a gift card to a local coffee shop (I know…no gift cards for this one). Or something consumable (I know…no food for this one).
After looking a the price…a bottle of vanilla extract…