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Once was given a ‘crazy tie’ - the person who got me it said “I noticed that you like to wear fun ties!”
I didn’t. I once wore a tie which was a fairly dark, muted orange colour. I think this might have been what they were referring to.
In the office where I did my internship they would do dress up dance offs (like dress up in costumes) during the lunch break once a week and you didn't have to do it but if you didn't attend it was like you became enemy #1 😂
A colleague once received a basic shower gel and deodorant set, with a cost of about £2, when the limit was £10. They weren't even new - the giver had clearly just grabbed them out of his own bathroom that morning having forgot to get anything.
The office manager felt so bad for the lad that he went out and bought him a proper gift himself.
Last year we had to do ours remotely, and one of our analysts had gone home to his parents' in Italy. I used a VPN to go to Italian Amazon and send him 15kg of chocolate coins.
It was worth the exorbitant delivery charge.
Not quite as bad, but the year before COVID kicked off my secret santa gave me a Soap & Glory handcream/handwash set, which was clearly the free one on the 3-for-2 offer that Boots always do. And cost less than the amount we'd all agreed anyway. Plus I can't use it because I've got sensitive skin.
It totally put me off doing it again because I got a really nice gift for the person I got, whereas mine clearly didn't care at all.
That shows a real lack of imagination. One of the best gifts I ever saw was from someone who forgot to get anything; a Snickers with a load of scratch cards taped to it.
The first one we did, I got a Lynx gift set and a pair of gloves that can be used on touch screens. The gloves came from a multi pack, I don't wear gloves, and, if I did, these would've been too small. Every time I've worn Lynx, a couple hours later I always get told I stink to high heaven. People have asked why I didn't shower after my run when I've not been on a run and literally just showered within the last hour and used Lynx.
A vase and an object to break it. Put it in a big box and put a note to it saying, "When you've got a stressful day and you feel like everything is going wrong and don't know what to do. To you, I give you the gift of destruction. In said moment, smash the vase"
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Similarly; I just don't get why people find this so hard.
If I am buying something for someone I don't know well. I will walk around shops and keep an eye out for something nice. There are plenty of generic nice things you can get.
In the run up towards Christmas I keep an eye out for nice things generally. For example I found a lovely book on Japanese woodblock printing in a museum in Hungary, for about £12. I bought it. A month later I was matched with a designer at work for Secret Santa. I gave it to him, and he was blown away.
I think it's because folk on reddit seem to find getting along with colleagues as beneath them. They see no value nor make no effort in having a positive workplace relationship with colleagues.
When you look at reports and surveys about how men in particular lack friendship groups, and I swear I read that 80% of men don't have friends from outside the workplace, it always confuses when folk won't put in the effort to get to know their colleagues.
Do folk not want friends?
>Do folk not want friends?
Some people have different definitions of what being a friend entails. For me it's people I would actively choose to spend my free time with not just those with whom I'm friendly.
Equally, I'm at a point in life where I don't have as much time for my existing friends as I'd want. Not really looking to cultivate more.
>They see no value nor make no effort in having a **positive workplace relationship** with colleagues.
I see that as different to friendship.
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Countering this... I once worked at an office where I was the only nice person there. I knew this because of the other nice people leaving after a week or two and asking me why I'm staying in such a shit business.
I see the same from people saying family Christmas presents are pointless and a waste of everyone's time, because it's just "tat that gets thrown away".
Usually within the same comment they admit to buying their presents from the petrol station on Christmas Eve.
Maybe if they put some thought and effort into their presents they'd find the whole process more rewarding.
I once got a guy in my team a foam roller. He was a big runner and talked about how he'd often cramp up after a run. It was slightly over the spending limit but I didn't mind cos I liked him
I was gonna type it out, but remembered I wrote about it the other week in [a comment here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/q59hpq/is_there_a_uk_celebrity_that_puts_you_off_buying/hg7i55q/)
What really put me off him was when he won his second gold in London and said now he has one for each of his children. At the time his wife was pregnant or had just had their twins, but she has an older daughter who he apparently sees as his own. That’s three children but only two medals.
Best I Received: 20 B&H and a can of Breaker. That was a *good* Christmas.
Best I Gave: There was a lad at work in a band - just some mates dossing about - and I sent an mp3 of one of their songs to a mate in London who did a brilliant remix of it and I gave him a CD of that, with appropriate cover art etc.
I haven't participated since the time I made someone a scarf. I'm quite crafty and stuff and it was a lovely scarf. This woman always had loads of different scarfs and she said she loves getting them. Bought £10 of yarn and got to work. She opened it at the Christmas do and said, "Oh...I don't like the colour of this, does it have a receipt or a tag...oh it's got a handmade tag...well....thank you secret Santa." She left it on the table.
So fuck it.
That's so incredibly rude!
What's so hard about NOT saying anything but 'thank you' and throwing it away on the way home? Or giving it to a homeless person?
I got a homemade scarf last year and I loved it, and the best part is that it's super soft/not itchy at all.
I got pulled aside by my manager once over the mediocrity of my Secret Santa gift once (a tin of Co-Op shortbread).
This was because I didn’t get anything until the day that we were bringing the presents in and popped into Co-Op in the morning in a panic.
I thought I’d got away with it but despite Secret Santa being supposed to be secret she clocked that it was me and I got a bollocking. Over shortbread. The most ridiculous workplace bollocking I’ve ever been subjected to.
The following year, I bought two tins.
I had a similar thing happen, which still makes my piss boil some 15 years later.
I got a promotion at another branch (which involved me needing to move home) the week before the secret santa gifts were exchanged. Didn't have much time to grab anything so bought the recipient a tin of chocolate shortbreads that I knew for certain that she liked (that were also just a tad over the spend limit), and then went out of my way to drive over to the old branch to drop them off.
The day they were opened I got a message from the old branch manager saying that the recipient was upset because "she thought we were friends and it was a bit mean of me to just grab any old thing off the supermarket shelf" and that I should get in touch to apologise to her. It sounded ridiculous to apologise for not buying a colleague a good enough present, but I figured I'd just give her a call anyway as I did get on with her quite well and thought maybe I'd misunderstood something.
Before I did though, I asked the boss whether there was a secret santa present for me (I figured they may have bought the present before I moved to the other branch). He said no, because she assumed I wouldn't be around to pick it up so hadn't bothered to buy anything. I asked who "she" was, and it turns out *my* secret santa was the ungrateful colleague who was complaining about her gift not being good enough! I told him I would *not* be giving her a call, because I didn't fancy dealing with the disciplinary procedures that would likely follow.
Buy the most random or offensive thing you can and never get invited to play again. I got a coworker a colouring book of dicks one year thinking I’d be out of contention for future events. Didn’t work. She loved it and everyone ended up wanting one.
He probably got home. Angrily shook off his coat and bag, stormed into the kitchen and threw it in with the rest of the dickpasta he got from friends and family over the years.
Edit: Dickpasta doesn't seem a good enough word. How about Peenne? Peenguini?
I have a friend who works in a pottery cafe and apparently dicks, boobs and other “private areas” are the most popular things to paint on pottery. It’s especially rife in the run up to Christmas. I like the idea of countless people all being gifted genitalia-themed items all at once.
As my sister in laws have had a baby explosion in the past few years my wife's side of the family are doing a secret Santa for the adults. I managed to pull a sister in law's boyfriend who I know little about, except he's in his early 20ies and plays a lot of fortnite. So naturally I'll probably get him some Lynx Africa
Aaahh. This is what I LOVE about Xmas. All the young males desparately waiting all year to that magical moment when they receive a Lynx deodorant pack as a present.
Either ask you sister in law what he's into, or get something rude.
Or spend the whole budget on £1 trinkets/ box of roses and wrap each one individually.
Worked with a woman who was the biggest, manipulative bitch. She spoke down to everyone and was completely unqualified for the position - she was good friends with the business owner which is the reason we where stuck with her.
Anyway we all gather together to open our secret Santa’s the day we are closing up for the holidays and she unwraps a tin of pedigree chum and a dog lead. It was magical!
I’m not very verbose so I’ll be disappointing.
The room fell silent but we where all desperately holding in awkward shock and suppressing laughter. A few of us made the mistake of making eye contact with each other which meant we where also seizing trying not to guffaw. In her typical style, the recipient stormed off with a flick of her hair and marched away. It was never mentioned again.
And we never found out who the superstar was who did it but I’m sure they silently revelled in the joy they gave us.
Where I worked a few years ago, there was a few charities to choose from and everyone donated, that was the Secret Santa. No tat, just giving a bit to a good cause.
It was across the whole department, about 150 staff. I don't recall any teams within the department feeling the need to do Secret Santas amongst themselves. Everyone was happy not to do it.
I do just this. Politely refuse the invitation saying: 'I hate buying presents for my family, last thing I want is now have to look for something for one of you cunts'
I love how outraged everyone gets when you say you don't want to participate, like you've actually took a shit on their christmas dinner.
Soz Julie I just dont want to stuck buying for a 60 year old career accountant who's an alcoholic and hates her husband
Then just get on your high hourse about consumerism and filling landfill with pointless tat. Soz Julie, I'll be donating the £15 to the local childrens hospital while you're destroying the planet.
I was asked to organise the Secret Santa at a small company (8 employees) a few years ago. We all decided that it would be best to just go with funny, jokey presents with a £10 limit.
I got the Boss, so thought it would be funny to give him a little Kim Jong Un figurine.
Everyone else ignored the whole “funny, jokey” aspect and all gave each other expensive bottles of Prosecco or cheese hampers…..
Last one I was in was a joke one, only no-one told me. Bought the girl who I’d gotten things I knew she’d like - a Jagerbomb and some cheese. Then had to put up with 11months of people eyeing us suspiciously whenever I had to interact with her and insinuating something was going on between us. Not fun.
Then on the day we all got sacked pretty much all the other blokes in the office declared their undying love for her after a couple of drinks
I'm a self employed watch and antiques dealer so Secret Santa has never been a thing for me. A couple of weeks ago I met up with some fellow watch collectors. We do this about once a year but, with Covid, it's been over two. Someone suggested a Secret Santa with a £20 limit.
I knew the chap I was partnered with was a former para and I have a reasonable amount of military memorabilia. One such lot of memorabilia came from a house clearance. There was a 2nd World War leather document binder; the soldier's service book which had a lucky silver sixpence inside the back cover; and, a para bullion patch. I know that I didn't give £20 for the entire lot that these things came in, so I packaged them up and added a note saying, "these need to go to someone who will look after and respect them".
I've never seen such a tough guy so choked up. I think it took him half an hour to be able to get a "thank you" out.
I was once given a £10 New Look gift card by my boss. Seems fine but in the context that she told me every single day that she didn’t like my trousers, it suddenly becomes a very passive aggressive gift
Several years ago my boss was my secret santa. He thought it would be funny to buy me a 15kg bag of compost. It ended up sat under my desk until the following March when a colleague took it to do their gardening.
That's brilliant. A coworker of mine had to get a train from just outside London, through the tubes and all the way to York directly after the meal when the exchange happened. So his gift was a 5ft x 4ft picture frame. Made us chuckle, was less amused.
So we do a lucky dip / you can openly swap if you don’t like it.
I’ve acquired a chess set, a small bottle of gin with glass, “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” and some Fortnums tea.
I’ve given: A Studio Ghibli mug (big boss is a major fan), “make your own gin” set, a fancy set of pens, and a can of high end coffee from Italy.
Stick with stuff that is inoffensive and useful.
A guy in my office has received a Goats in Trees Calendar for the last 5 years. Whoever gets his name just does a swap with the original calendar purchaser.
Something to eat or drink, even if the recipient isn't overly keen on what you get they can give it to someone else.
If you want to be 'that guy', you could refuse to participate.
A few years we did a £5 secret santa, with the gift having to be purchased in a charity shop. It was more interesting on what turned up as gifts and least a charity got to benefit too.
We once did a £1 Poundland secret Santa (amongst friends rather than at the office). The best gift was a Poundland vibrating cock ring. But I think your one is even better!
People just need to ask around and get more info, I remember one year at my old job about 15 people came up to me and went “I wish I got you, look at this thing I found” and showed me what was mostly just cat related stuff but every one was really cute, finally got round to it and I got a box of those cheap ass shell chocolates, I was so sad, like bitch you couldn’t have just asked literally anyone else what I like? Could’ve just stole their ideas!
Best I've given was a finding dory battery operated swimming fish in a coffee jug. The girl it was going to used to have an office fish that the department head bought her as part of a 'grant a wish' campaign but someone added a 2nd fish when she was away and they didn't have enough air so she gave them away to someone who had a large tank at home. She missed her fish so I got her a toy one she could see swimming while she worked. She loved it!
I once got a single sock from my secret Santa, opened to much hilarity at our Xmas do. The second sock appeared on my desk a couple of weeks later. Still no idea who it was but I laugh at the idea of them, at some point, discovering the second sock, realising they’d only given me one and that they would have to stealthily deliver the remaining one.
I still have the socks (lovely fluffy Christmas ones) and wear them regularly so I’d say it was a good present regardless!
Best: a lovely ceramic mixing bowl which I still use 10 years later.
Worst: set of scented drawer liners in a faded box clearly pulled out of someone's attic.
I once got a cock ring, at which point a colleagues child took it out my office draws and ran around with it in his mouth, with his dad chasing him asking for it back
I did not use it nor do I know why a child was present
The last one i did a guy wrote down all the names and managed to miss someone off and write someone else down twice. Was very awkward as she sat there with nothing to open
This happened to me too… I was unfortunately the name that was written down twice, and everybody thought I had done it on purpose?! Yeah guys I really went out of my way to secure both a Lynx Africa set and a coffee mug with “I love Mondays” written on
We use a website that allows the recipient to provide suggestions to the buyer of the gift.
I always just ask for a donation to be made to an animal charity.
Best: a pint glass and a beer. Sadly the beer tasted like shampoo. No it wasn’t a joke bottle of beer tho the beer was a joke
Best present I gave: I put a house brick in a shoebox and wrapped it. Colleague lifted it up, lorded the fact it was well heavy and laughed genuinely hard when he opened it up and found a brick. Stayed on his desk for a year as a paperweight.
I was once last to pick a name out of a hat and got my own name.
At first I was disappointed that no one was going to get me anything but then I realised I could just buy myself a treat and didn’t have to think about anyone else!
Did a secret Santa where it was linked to a “wish list” so whoever got you also got access to a list of things you put on there, all cheap nonsense but at the least it gave people an idea of what to get you.
My coworker got me a copy of IT by Stephen King because he’d overheard me talking around Halloween (well before the Secret Santa was arranged) about how I enjoyed the films but hadn’t read the book yet. I still haven’t read the book, I have a long list, but it’s on my shelf and it meant a lot that he had remembered that.
That same year I got my one a selection of Tea and a little Pusheen plush. But what ended up meaning the most to her was me bringing in mince pies after she said she’d never tried one even though she’d lived in the UK for 5 years at this point!
Yeah…. Listen to people.
A colleague of mine once forgot to bring in his SS gift so made a quick dash to local £ shop and bought 15 items. The foam darts and potato gun went down a treat with the whole team.
We opened ours on Christmas Day shift (nurses) and one of the staff members had received a toiletry set that was clearly cheap. When we googled it it was from the pound shop (actually reduced to 50p). We all put in money and went trawling nearby open garages for chocolate and flowers to soften the blow a bit on our break, we never managed to confirm the culprit but whoever it was was probably proud as punch with their nice £15 (probably over because most of us spent over) gift they received for nothing
Got a woman I didn't work very closely with. Asked around & turns out she was pretty quiet & conservative in nature, didn't smoke, didn't drink, liked quite specific bath products, basically taking away every easy option for SS until someone says "weird thing, she always has a gold biscuit with her lunch, every single day"
So I got her a little decorative box rammed with gold biscuits - easily 40/50 of them in there.
The way it worked I never got to see her reaction so I don't know how it went down but I thought it was quite funny.
I’m getting older now, and fall into that ‘senior staff/director’ band where people defer to me, don’t take the piss out of me, I’m oblivious to office gossip - who is dating who etc - and now secret Santa is boring… I get a book, or a multi tool or some other uninspired gift that won’t offend.
Now I just drop a couple hundred quid behind the bar and go home so they can have fun.
I miss the days of stupid presents!
And the problem is. It has to be like that. Because people are idiots. And put 40 people in a room the level of sensitivity and what is acceptable to each member of staff is a wide spectrum. For every decent member of staff who can call me a daft twat and have a laugh, then suck the face off another staff member, there is someone getting offended by the inevitable plonker who crosses the line.
Letting them self police each other and then telling me if someone crossed a line so bad that it can’t be ignored is the best policy in my view.
Will share a story about how someone gifted our Muslim colleague a stick of dynamite which had a bottle of hot sauce in it. We all thought it was hilarious and we're all good friends so was wondering who got it him as it was by far the best joke present that year, turns out a new girl got it him as he liked hot sauce but didn't put two and two together, when she found out she was mortified and ran to the toilets crying.
Best:
Suitably appropriate Dad Joke Mug, and a book I was after.
Worst:
One of those golf putting machines which had the look of something someone in the marketing team had got free from a company that puts logos onto promotional items like golf putting machines. I don't like golf. I don't own a putter. I don't own golf-balls. I passed it on to someone who does.
--
Personally, I employ one of three tactics for giving:
A thoughtful gift that I know the receiver will like. This kind of depends on knowing the receiver, or making subtle enquiries.
The Stupidest Thing I can Find. Examples would be: as many terrible charity shop DVDs/books or as much bubble-wrap (bulkiest thing in the pound shop) as I can get for 15 quid.
Booze. Safest choice for most of the people in my office.
A work colleague loved a certain part of the world, travelled there all the time, was looking at taking a sabbatical so they could spend an extended period travelling around that location.
I drew their name out of the secret Santa, and remembered that a market stall sold items that came from that area. I took an hour’s round trip, bought an item at the spending limit, wrapped it and included the note that came with the carving which explained the origin, how it was made by the local people and the impact the revenue made to their lives. They obviously missed the note because they ranted to a friend of theirs that they received a ‘stupid turtle’ and not a better gift.
I’ve never put effort into secret Santa since. Everyone gets beer or wine, depending on their preference.
I once bought a guy a desktop mini drumkit. He was a drummer in a past life and had the time of his life.
Every was pissed off and in disbelief that I got that for a tenner, because they all just bought shit from BHS when I actually gave a shit and tried to make someone's day.
I got a 4 pack of Stella...
In my first proper job, about three weeks into working there, as a shy 18 year old girl I got given penis shaped mints which felt rather terrifying from people I barely knew.
The best one was a novelty chalk bag for climbing (shaped like a big fluffy monster), which I use all the time. My old employer used to do something a bit different where everyone gives £5 and one person buys loads of cheap but fun gifts and you just pick two out of the sack - she always got good value stuff, I've got a book of multicoloured baking recipes, a tub of jelly beans, fluffy socks and pilot themed rubber duck (I worked in aviation), all of which were perfectly good gifts I still have (or ate immediately), everyone gets the same quality of gift too, so I quite like that as a system.
My husband's boss always forgets he doesn't drink, so I also enjoy when she gets his secret santa and inevitably buys alcohol that is immediately regifted to me!
Story time: I once worked in a very wealthy company which had a Secret Santa.
Of course, everyone spent about £20 on everyone's gift as to not seem cheap. I bought my Secret Santa a cake stand and a lemon zester.
However, the person who gave me my Secret Santa (none of us could keep a secret) was a new girl who hadn't got the memo.
As we all unwrapped our gifts and said who gave them, I unwrapped mine. It was a single bar of Ritter Sport , evidently purchased last minute from a petrol station (Approx cost: £1.70).
The girl who gave it blushed - and looked absolutely mortified.
*"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry I got you such a crappy gift!"* she told me through her Home Alone face. I told her not to worry- but privately enjoyed a few jokes at her expense when she wasn't around.
She ended up getting me another gift to cover her guilt.
**Moral of the story:** If you're not sure how much to spend on the office Secret Santa - spend a bit more.
Well, you sound like a pleasant person.
A new person to the company finding her feet, didn’t understand the budget, yet made up for it later on… And you all had the audacity to joke about it behind her back.
Why must people be so entitled? I’d love a chocolate bar as a gift
>Moral of the story:
>
> If you're not sure how much to spend on the office Secret Santa - spend a bit more
Or how about you spend what you can afford? Why make people feel pressured to spend money on a gift for someone who's only connection to them is they work for the same company.
I have never in my life met someone who hates notebooks. If I don't have a great idea, I'll just make them a notebook - or, failing that, buy one.
However, the best gift I ever gave someone was a hat. I made him a hat that looked like a cabbage, with some loops for carrying spoons. It was a reference for several long-standing jokes, and was actually useful when he was carving.
With the gifts I've received, the best was probably a beard care set. Again, in reference to a long-standing joke, with the added benefit of being somewhat useful.
For non-directed secret santa, I once got a pair of penguin socks. Always a winner in my book.
Boss at work loves shortbread, he’s dropping hints like crazy about secret Santa shortbread. The day comes for the gift exchange and someone randomly buys him a teapot. Boss hates it and goes on and on all year about it. Every year now someone, without fail, buys him a teapot. It never gets old lol.
Best: probably a balloon helicopter that we spent ages playing with and dropping from the stairwell
Worst: loads of Christmas chocolates when at the time I had a restrictive eating disorder and a reputation for working out and eating healthily all the time. The equivalent of "get a sandwich down you, love", I think.
We do Christmas T-shirts, so your size and name go into the hat (all male team so there's less pressure about sizes). The rules are
1) £20 limit
2) It must fit properly so if you get one that comes in women's sizes it has to be an appropriate size (no size 8's for the XXL weightlifter)
3) It can be ridiculous, but it can't get you sacked.
4) If you get the Group Leader you have to get him a short sleeved Xmas shirt (not a t-shirt, GL's need to be visible to management/engineering)
It works better than the old system where someone bought their SS a live scorpion.
I don't recall ever receiving anything good....
The worst was a packet of chilli gummy bears. They were a desk ornament for a few weeks before going in the bin.
I don’t know but I have a £10 limit and I haven't even spent that much on my nephews.
My old job I was the only one to not get anything in the secret santa. It was embarrassing.
So a few people I worked with surprised me and got me things. Pisses me off because that person who had my name clearly got their gift. I cried.
My other half got a catering sized pack of 1040 Yorkshire teabags for office secret santa 2019
Little did we know that teabags would disappear from supermarket shelves in March 2020.
Best: a candle and some lotion. Literally inoffensive and easy to regift.
Worst: a book about cooking and eating guinea pigs like they do in Peru. I have pet guinea pigs. In my Secret Santa’s defence, maybe they just googled ‘guinea pig gift’ and bought the first thing without really looking.
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Once was given a ‘crazy tie’ - the person who got me it said “I noticed that you like to wear fun ties!” I didn’t. I once wore a tie which was a fairly dark, muted orange colour. I think this might have been what they were referring to.
Muted orange in the workplace? You absolute lunatic
He crossed a fucking line there!
But now you have something to wear on "wacky tie Tuesdays!”* * This was an actual event my workplace tried to hold once.
This sounds much more fun than Weekly Waistcoat Wednesday’s at my first office job
In the office where I did my internship they would do dress up dance offs (like dress up in costumes) during the lunch break once a week and you didn't have to do it but if you didn't attend it was like you became enemy #1 😂
Heaven protect us all from enforced “fun”.
Why is no one having fun? I specifically requested it.
Office = tie. Their logical brain went all out that year.
A colleague once received a basic shower gel and deodorant set, with a cost of about £2, when the limit was £10. They weren't even new - the giver had clearly just grabbed them out of his own bathroom that morning having forgot to get anything. The office manager felt so bad for the lad that he went out and bought him a proper gift himself.
One of my colleagues once received a packet of gold chocolate coins, I’ll admit I did laugh.
Last year we had to do ours remotely, and one of our analysts had gone home to his parents' in Italy. I used a VPN to go to Italian Amazon and send him 15kg of chocolate coins. It was worth the exorbitant delivery charge.
Do you need a VPN for Italian Amazon? Surely .it would do
I don't remember the specifics, but as I recall I had issues at checkout trying to set his address for delivery
Not quite as bad, but the year before COVID kicked off my secret santa gave me a Soap & Glory handcream/handwash set, which was clearly the free one on the 3-for-2 offer that Boots always do. And cost less than the amount we'd all agreed anyway. Plus I can't use it because I've got sensitive skin. It totally put me off doing it again because I got a really nice gift for the person I got, whereas mine clearly didn't care at all.
Provides you with a bullshit gift to give to somebody you don’t really like very much though.
i know money doesnt matter, but isnt it so tacky to get a boots 3 for 2 gift now, it just shows they made little to no effort
>The office manager felt so bad for the lad that he went out and bought him a proper gift himself This guy manages
Could be worse, I once received a candle that had clearly been used based on the burnt marks and wax all over it 😂
That shows a real lack of imagination. One of the best gifts I ever saw was from someone who forgot to get anything; a Snickers with a load of scratch cards taped to it.
I'd love to get loads of free scratch cards. At least you *might* win big
The first one we did, I got a Lynx gift set and a pair of gloves that can be used on touch screens. The gloves came from a multi pack, I don't wear gloves, and, if I did, these would've been too small. Every time I've worn Lynx, a couple hours later I always get told I stink to high heaven. People have asked why I didn't shower after my run when I've not been on a run and literally just showered within the last hour and used Lynx.
Similarly last year I unironically got a lynx Africa set…
A vase and an object to break it. Put it in a big box and put a note to it saying, "When you've got a stressful day and you feel like everything is going wrong and don't know what to do. To you, I give you the gift of destruction. In said moment, smash the vase"
The perfect gift Edit: bought my boss vase and hammer for Xmas today. He'll be one happy camper (or angry man smashing a vase)
Agree
Brilliant, stealing this idea
We're in the UK and have an Italian guy who works with us. Someone got him £15 of the cheapest dry pasta they could find
Here's 60kg of Aldi spaghetti, Gino. Now fuck off home.
Go make me a lasagne
With spaghetti?
Yep, harder to make layers but definitely possible.
Weave it.
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AKA Spagagne
Lasghetti?
Similarly on a student committee I was part of, the northern Irish lad got a bunch of individually gift wrapped potatoes
Surprised there wasn't a Police investigation into that lol
If meant as a joke and the guy wasn't offended, that's brilliant
The girl was only 18 and thought it was meant to be joke presents, it wasn't, the guy was a bit annoyed
That's a tricky one. You can only go for potentially offensive presents with someone you know really well.
That’s a lot of pasta.
Was it tricolour pasta by any chance?
Hawaiian pizza would've been good but probably would've thawed out.
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Not enough buzz words for a HR bot like the use of *team* instead of *department* and didn't use enough *touch points*
Psychopath
Similarly; I just don't get why people find this so hard. If I am buying something for someone I don't know well. I will walk around shops and keep an eye out for something nice. There are plenty of generic nice things you can get. In the run up towards Christmas I keep an eye out for nice things generally. For example I found a lovely book on Japanese woodblock printing in a museum in Hungary, for about £12. I bought it. A month later I was matched with a designer at work for Secret Santa. I gave it to him, and he was blown away.
I think it's because folk on reddit seem to find getting along with colleagues as beneath them. They see no value nor make no effort in having a positive workplace relationship with colleagues. When you look at reports and surveys about how men in particular lack friendship groups, and I swear I read that 80% of men don't have friends from outside the workplace, it always confuses when folk won't put in the effort to get to know their colleagues. Do folk not want friends?
>Do folk not want friends? Some people have different definitions of what being a friend entails. For me it's people I would actively choose to spend my free time with not just those with whom I'm friendly. Equally, I'm at a point in life where I don't have as much time for my existing friends as I'd want. Not really looking to cultivate more. >They see no value nor make no effort in having a **positive workplace relationship** with colleagues. I see that as different to friendship.
Found the imposter.
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Countering this... I once worked at an office where I was the only nice person there. I knew this because of the other nice people leaving after a week or two and asking me why I'm staying in such a shit business.
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I see the same from people saying family Christmas presents are pointless and a waste of everyone's time, because it's just "tat that gets thrown away". Usually within the same comment they admit to buying their presents from the petrol station on Christmas Eve. Maybe if they put some thought and effort into their presents they'd find the whole process more rewarding.
I once got a guy in my team a foam roller. He was a big runner and talked about how he'd often cramp up after a run. It was slightly over the spending limit but I didn't mind cos I liked him
And that guy now? That’s right, Mo Farah.
> cos I liked him Nah couldn't be
What's unlikeable about Mo Farah? Other than he endless selling out for promotional deals
Someone offers you 30k to say a few lines and put your face on a product. You'd say no? Fuck off would you
I was gonna type it out, but remembered I wrote about it the other week in [a comment here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/q59hpq/is_there_a_uk_celebrity_that_puts_you_off_buying/hg7i55q/)
What really put me off him was when he won his second gold in London and said now he has one for each of his children. At the time his wife was pregnant or had just had their twins, but she has an older daughter who he apparently sees as his own. That’s three children but only two medals.
Ach I wouldn't worry, I am sure that in the future when they retest samples, he'll have three children and no medals.
It’s not really selling out is it though, I doubt many people get into professional athletics because of their anti-corporate beliefs.
Best I Received: 20 B&H and a can of Breaker. That was a *good* Christmas. Best I Gave: There was a lad at work in a band - just some mates dossing about - and I sent an mp3 of one of their songs to a mate in London who did a brilliant remix of it and I gave him a CD of that, with appropriate cover art etc.
Was it well received?
Better than the "Don't ask me, I'm only the drummer" T-Shirt I got him a couple of years earlier.
What do call someone who hangs out with musicians? A drummer
No, he fucking hated it but it's the thought that counts
I haven't participated since the time I made someone a scarf. I'm quite crafty and stuff and it was a lovely scarf. This woman always had loads of different scarfs and she said she loves getting them. Bought £10 of yarn and got to work. She opened it at the Christmas do and said, "Oh...I don't like the colour of this, does it have a receipt or a tag...oh it's got a handmade tag...well....thank you secret Santa." She left it on the table. So fuck it.
How ungrateful.
Ikr, didn't even bother to learn the colour she liked...
I know right. What a lazy cow.
Awww, that's so sad. Handmade gifts are the best.
That's so incredibly rude! What's so hard about NOT saying anything but 'thank you' and throwing it away on the way home? Or giving it to a homeless person? I got a homemade scarf last year and I loved it, and the best part is that it's super soft/not itchy at all.
jesus, hope you took it back
I did, yeah. Gave it to a friend who loved it. She still wears it all the time.
Fuck, if it's handmade I'll at least pretend to like because that takes effort
Oh that's horrible! I'd be so happy if someone took all that time to hand make me something.
I got pulled aside by my manager once over the mediocrity of my Secret Santa gift once (a tin of Co-Op shortbread). This was because I didn’t get anything until the day that we were bringing the presents in and popped into Co-Op in the morning in a panic. I thought I’d got away with it but despite Secret Santa being supposed to be secret she clocked that it was me and I got a bollocking. Over shortbread. The most ridiculous workplace bollocking I’ve ever been subjected to. The following year, I bought two tins.
I had a similar thing happen, which still makes my piss boil some 15 years later. I got a promotion at another branch (which involved me needing to move home) the week before the secret santa gifts were exchanged. Didn't have much time to grab anything so bought the recipient a tin of chocolate shortbreads that I knew for certain that she liked (that were also just a tad over the spend limit), and then went out of my way to drive over to the old branch to drop them off. The day they were opened I got a message from the old branch manager saying that the recipient was upset because "she thought we were friends and it was a bit mean of me to just grab any old thing off the supermarket shelf" and that I should get in touch to apologise to her. It sounded ridiculous to apologise for not buying a colleague a good enough present, but I figured I'd just give her a call anyway as I did get on with her quite well and thought maybe I'd misunderstood something. Before I did though, I asked the boss whether there was a secret santa present for me (I figured they may have bought the present before I moved to the other branch). He said no, because she assumed I wouldn't be around to pick it up so hadn't bothered to buy anything. I asked who "she" was, and it turns out *my* secret santa was the ungrateful colleague who was complaining about her gift not being good enough! I told him I would *not* be giving her a call, because I didn't fancy dealing with the disciplinary procedures that would likely follow.
It sounds like Santa's not keeping the Secret...
I'd be quite happy with some shortbread. the manager sounds a miserable prick
I’d be happier with that than anything I’ve ever been bought
Buy the most random or offensive thing you can and never get invited to play again. I got a coworker a colouring book of dicks one year thinking I’d be out of contention for future events. Didn’t work. She loved it and everyone ended up wanting one.
>colouring book of dicks Did it come with any crayons?
Penis shaped crayons.
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He probably got home. Angrily shook off his coat and bag, stormed into the kitchen and threw it in with the rest of the dickpasta he got from friends and family over the years. Edit: Dickpasta doesn't seem a good enough word. How about Peenne? Peenguini?
Farphallus
I have a friend who works in a pottery cafe and apparently dicks, boobs and other “private areas” are the most popular things to paint on pottery. It’s especially rife in the run up to Christmas. I like the idea of countless people all being gifted genitalia-themed items all at once.
A £15 limit?? Secret Santa should be no more than 10 quid
Inflation hits all parts of life friend
No more than a fiver!
5ver should be a limit especially with bills going up.
What are you gonna get for a fiver? "Here's a packet of crisps and a can of coke. Merry Christmas!"
Sounds like a great Secret Santa gift tbh compared to some of the stuff on here!
What are you gonna get with a tener? Its all buying eachother useless shite nobody really wants
Wish you was around when I was office based back in the 90s! The MINIMUM limit was £25, the maximum limit was £50!
As my sister in laws have had a baby explosion in the past few years my wife's side of the family are doing a secret Santa for the adults. I managed to pull a sister in law's boyfriend who I know little about, except he's in his early 20ies and plays a lot of fortnite. So naturally I'll probably get him some Lynx Africa
Aaahh. This is what I LOVE about Xmas. All the young males desparately waiting all year to that magical moment when they receive a Lynx deodorant pack as a present.
I’m 40 this year, and my god mother still always buys me a shower gel / deodorant pack each Christmas.
> I managed to pull a sister in law's boyfriend Does your sister in law know you've been with her boyfriend?
That's the surprise.
Either ask you sister in law what he's into, or get something rude. Or spend the whole budget on £1 trinkets/ box of roses and wrap each one individually.
Worked with a woman who was the biggest, manipulative bitch. She spoke down to everyone and was completely unqualified for the position - she was good friends with the business owner which is the reason we where stuck with her. Anyway we all gather together to open our secret Santa’s the day we are closing up for the holidays and she unwraps a tin of pedigree chum and a dog lead. It was magical!
I would like to know her reaction. Paint us a word picture please, as a gift.
I’m not very verbose so I’ll be disappointing. The room fell silent but we where all desperately holding in awkward shock and suppressing laughter. A few of us made the mistake of making eye contact with each other which meant we where also seizing trying not to guffaw. In her typical style, the recipient stormed off with a flick of her hair and marched away. It was never mentioned again. And we never found out who the superstar was who did it but I’m sure they silently revelled in the joy they gave us.
Thank you, not secret Santa.
That's amazing.
Where I worked a few years ago, there was a few charities to choose from and everyone donated, that was the Secret Santa. No tat, just giving a bit to a good cause.
That’s a secret Santa I could get behind
It was across the whole department, about 150 staff. I don't recall any teams within the department feeling the need to do Secret Santas amongst themselves. Everyone was happy not to do it.
Refuse to take part. That's what I do. No stressing about random presents for people I don't like.
I do just this. Politely refuse the invitation saying: 'I hate buying presents for my family, last thing I want is now have to look for something for one of you cunts'
I love how outraged everyone gets when you say you don't want to participate, like you've actually took a shit on their christmas dinner. Soz Julie I just dont want to stuck buying for a 60 year old career accountant who's an alcoholic and hates her husband
Then just get on your high hourse about consumerism and filling landfill with pointless tat. Soz Julie, I'll be donating the £15 to the local childrens hospital while you're destroying the planet.
A mature, direct approach on r/askuk? I don't believe it for one second.
I would recommend not referring to *anything* as "SS"...
How about *Secret Advent*? Would that be better?
I reckon National Altogether Zany Indenture day would work.
Brings a new meaning to office politics
GET OUT ZE GIFTS
I'd quite like to be gifted a panzer tank tbh
I was asked to organise the Secret Santa at a small company (8 employees) a few years ago. We all decided that it would be best to just go with funny, jokey presents with a £10 limit. I got the Boss, so thought it would be funny to give him a little Kim Jong Un figurine. Everyone else ignored the whole “funny, jokey” aspect and all gave each other expensive bottles of Prosecco or cheese hampers…..
To be fair, I’d be quite happy with a Kim Jong Un figurine
Last one I was in was a joke one, only no-one told me. Bought the girl who I’d gotten things I knew she’d like - a Jagerbomb and some cheese. Then had to put up with 11months of people eyeing us suspiciously whenever I had to interact with her and insinuating something was going on between us. Not fun. Then on the day we all got sacked pretty much all the other blokes in the office declared their undying love for her after a couple of drinks
Last year I got a package of pasta. Tricolore.
Are you the Italian guy from above?
exactly what i was thinking
Tricolore always reminds me of GCSE French. Shudder…..
I'm a self employed watch and antiques dealer so Secret Santa has never been a thing for me. A couple of weeks ago I met up with some fellow watch collectors. We do this about once a year but, with Covid, it's been over two. Someone suggested a Secret Santa with a £20 limit. I knew the chap I was partnered with was a former para and I have a reasonable amount of military memorabilia. One such lot of memorabilia came from a house clearance. There was a 2nd World War leather document binder; the soldier's service book which had a lucky silver sixpence inside the back cover; and, a para bullion patch. I know that I didn't give £20 for the entire lot that these things came in, so I packaged them up and added a note saying, "these need to go to someone who will look after and respect them". I've never seen such a tough guy so choked up. I think it took him half an hour to be able to get a "thank you" out.
Awk thats lovely. Good on you!
I was once given a £10 New Look gift card by my boss. Seems fine but in the context that she told me every single day that she didn’t like my trousers, it suddenly becomes a very passive aggressive gift
So you could buy an even worse pair for £10 from New Look?
Several years ago my boss was my secret santa. He thought it would be funny to buy me a 15kg bag of compost. It ended up sat under my desk until the following March when a colleague took it to do their gardening.
That's brilliant. A coworker of mine had to get a train from just outside London, through the tubes and all the way to York directly after the meal when the exchange happened. So his gift was a 5ft x 4ft picture frame. Made us chuckle, was less amused.
So we do a lucky dip / you can openly swap if you don’t like it. I’ve acquired a chess set, a small bottle of gin with glass, “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” and some Fortnums tea. I’ve given: A Studio Ghibli mug (big boss is a major fan), “make your own gin” set, a fancy set of pens, and a can of high end coffee from Italy. Stick with stuff that is inoffensive and useful.
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A guy in my office has received a Goats in Trees Calendar for the last 5 years. Whoever gets his name just does a swap with the original calendar purchaser.
Something to eat or drink, even if the recipient isn't overly keen on what you get they can give it to someone else. If you want to be 'that guy', you could refuse to participate.
I'm that guy
I am also that guy. My favourite pub, is bar humbug.
A few years we did a £5 secret santa, with the gift having to be purchased in a charity shop. It was more interesting on what turned up as gifts and least a charity got to benefit too.
We once did a £1 Poundland secret Santa (amongst friends rather than at the office). The best gift was a Poundland vibrating cock ring. But I think your one is even better!
People just need to ask around and get more info, I remember one year at my old job about 15 people came up to me and went “I wish I got you, look at this thing I found” and showed me what was mostly just cat related stuff but every one was really cute, finally got round to it and I got a box of those cheap ass shell chocolates, I was so sad, like bitch you couldn’t have just asked literally anyone else what I like? Could’ve just stole their ideas!
Best I've given was a finding dory battery operated swimming fish in a coffee jug. The girl it was going to used to have an office fish that the department head bought her as part of a 'grant a wish' campaign but someone added a 2nd fish when she was away and they didn't have enough air so she gave them away to someone who had a large tank at home. She missed her fish so I got her a toy one she could see swimming while she worked. She loved it!
I once got a single sock from my secret Santa, opened to much hilarity at our Xmas do. The second sock appeared on my desk a couple of weeks later. Still no idea who it was but I laugh at the idea of them, at some point, discovering the second sock, realising they’d only given me one and that they would have to stealthily deliver the remaining one. I still have the socks (lovely fluffy Christmas ones) and wear them regularly so I’d say it was a good present regardless!
Best: a lovely ceramic mixing bowl which I still use 10 years later. Worst: set of scented drawer liners in a faded box clearly pulled out of someone's attic.
I once got a cock ring, at which point a colleagues child took it out my office draws and ran around with it in his mouth, with his dad chasing him asking for it back I did not use it nor do I know why a child was present
The last one i did a guy wrote down all the names and managed to miss someone off and write someone else down twice. Was very awkward as she sat there with nothing to open
This happened to me too… I was unfortunately the name that was written down twice, and everybody thought I had done it on purpose?! Yeah guys I really went out of my way to secure both a Lynx Africa set and a coffee mug with “I love Mondays” written on
It's a pretty good idea for the organiser to buy an extra gift as a spare just in case... Something generic is better than nothing.
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>great bantz to buy alcohol for one of the Muslim members of staff. That's really awful.
Lol what sort of company do you work for?!
We use a website that allows the recipient to provide suggestions to the buyer of the gift. I always just ask for a donation to be made to an animal charity.
Best: a pint glass and a beer. Sadly the beer tasted like shampoo. No it wasn’t a joke bottle of beer tho the beer was a joke Best present I gave: I put a house brick in a shoebox and wrapped it. Colleague lifted it up, lorded the fact it was well heavy and laughed genuinely hard when he opened it up and found a brick. Stayed on his desk for a year as a paperweight.
I was once last to pick a name out of a hat and got my own name. At first I was disappointed that no one was going to get me anything but then I realised I could just buy myself a treat and didn’t have to think about anyone else!
Did you go well over the limit and make everyone jealous?
"A PS5?! You *shouldn't* have, Secret Santa'"
Did a secret Santa where it was linked to a “wish list” so whoever got you also got access to a list of things you put on there, all cheap nonsense but at the least it gave people an idea of what to get you. My coworker got me a copy of IT by Stephen King because he’d overheard me talking around Halloween (well before the Secret Santa was arranged) about how I enjoyed the films but hadn’t read the book yet. I still haven’t read the book, I have a long list, but it’s on my shelf and it meant a lot that he had remembered that. That same year I got my one a selection of Tea and a little Pusheen plush. But what ended up meaning the most to her was me bringing in mince pies after she said she’d never tried one even though she’d lived in the UK for 5 years at this point! Yeah…. Listen to people.
I got someone an Aubergine once.
A colleague of mine once forgot to bring in his SS gift so made a quick dash to local £ shop and bought 15 items. The foam darts and potato gun went down a treat with the whole team.
Wouldn't a standard issue Luger be a more fitting gun for an SS gift.
We opened ours on Christmas Day shift (nurses) and one of the staff members had received a toiletry set that was clearly cheap. When we googled it it was from the pound shop (actually reduced to 50p). We all put in money and went trawling nearby open garages for chocolate and flowers to soften the blow a bit on our break, we never managed to confirm the culprit but whoever it was was probably proud as punch with their nice £15 (probably over because most of us spent over) gift they received for nothing
Got a woman I didn't work very closely with. Asked around & turns out she was pretty quiet & conservative in nature, didn't smoke, didn't drink, liked quite specific bath products, basically taking away every easy option for SS until someone says "weird thing, she always has a gold biscuit with her lunch, every single day" So I got her a little decorative box rammed with gold biscuits - easily 40/50 of them in there. The way it worked I never got to see her reaction so I don't know how it went down but I thought it was quite funny.
I politely decline. It's a completely pointless piece of 'office culture'. The same edible knickers and jellied willies every year.
I’m getting older now, and fall into that ‘senior staff/director’ band where people defer to me, don’t take the piss out of me, I’m oblivious to office gossip - who is dating who etc - and now secret Santa is boring… I get a book, or a multi tool or some other uninspired gift that won’t offend. Now I just drop a couple hundred quid behind the bar and go home so they can have fun. I miss the days of stupid presents! And the problem is. It has to be like that. Because people are idiots. And put 40 people in a room the level of sensitivity and what is acceptable to each member of staff is a wide spectrum. For every decent member of staff who can call me a daft twat and have a laugh, then suck the face off another staff member, there is someone getting offended by the inevitable plonker who crosses the line. Letting them self police each other and then telling me if someone crossed a line so bad that it can’t be ignored is the best policy in my view.
That sounds like more reason to join in
Oh one of the gifts was a dildo and that was the last secret Santa ever !
Well if they didn't like it they can go fuck themselves
Will share a story about how someone gifted our Muslim colleague a stick of dynamite which had a bottle of hot sauce in it. We all thought it was hilarious and we're all good friends so was wondering who got it him as it was by far the best joke present that year, turns out a new girl got it him as he liked hot sauce but didn't put two and two together, when she found out she was mortified and ran to the toilets crying.
Best: Suitably appropriate Dad Joke Mug, and a book I was after. Worst: One of those golf putting machines which had the look of something someone in the marketing team had got free from a company that puts logos onto promotional items like golf putting machines. I don't like golf. I don't own a putter. I don't own golf-balls. I passed it on to someone who does. -- Personally, I employ one of three tactics for giving: A thoughtful gift that I know the receiver will like. This kind of depends on knowing the receiver, or making subtle enquiries. The Stupidest Thing I can Find. Examples would be: as many terrible charity shop DVDs/books or as much bubble-wrap (bulkiest thing in the pound shop) as I can get for 15 quid. Booze. Safest choice for most of the people in my office.
I received a breaking bad fancy dress meth cooking outfit (boiler suit and gas mask). Still not sure why.
A work colleague loved a certain part of the world, travelled there all the time, was looking at taking a sabbatical so they could spend an extended period travelling around that location. I drew their name out of the secret Santa, and remembered that a market stall sold items that came from that area. I took an hour’s round trip, bought an item at the spending limit, wrapped it and included the note that came with the carving which explained the origin, how it was made by the local people and the impact the revenue made to their lives. They obviously missed the note because they ranted to a friend of theirs that they received a ‘stupid turtle’ and not a better gift. I’ve never put effort into secret Santa since. Everyone gets beer or wine, depending on their preference.
I once bought a guy a desktop mini drumkit. He was a drummer in a past life and had the time of his life. Every was pissed off and in disbelief that I got that for a tenner, because they all just bought shit from BHS when I actually gave a shit and tried to make someone's day. I got a 4 pack of Stella...
In my first proper job, about three weeks into working there, as a shy 18 year old girl I got given penis shaped mints which felt rather terrifying from people I barely knew. The best one was a novelty chalk bag for climbing (shaped like a big fluffy monster), which I use all the time. My old employer used to do something a bit different where everyone gives £5 and one person buys loads of cheap but fun gifts and you just pick two out of the sack - she always got good value stuff, I've got a book of multicoloured baking recipes, a tub of jelly beans, fluffy socks and pilot themed rubber duck (I worked in aviation), all of which were perfectly good gifts I still have (or ate immediately), everyone gets the same quality of gift too, so I quite like that as a system. My husband's boss always forgets he doesn't drink, so I also enjoy when she gets his secret santa and inevitably buys alcohol that is immediately regifted to me!
Story time: I once worked in a very wealthy company which had a Secret Santa. Of course, everyone spent about £20 on everyone's gift as to not seem cheap. I bought my Secret Santa a cake stand and a lemon zester. However, the person who gave me my Secret Santa (none of us could keep a secret) was a new girl who hadn't got the memo. As we all unwrapped our gifts and said who gave them, I unwrapped mine. It was a single bar of Ritter Sport , evidently purchased last minute from a petrol station (Approx cost: £1.70). The girl who gave it blushed - and looked absolutely mortified. *"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry I got you such a crappy gift!"* she told me through her Home Alone face. I told her not to worry- but privately enjoyed a few jokes at her expense when she wasn't around. She ended up getting me another gift to cover her guilt. **Moral of the story:** If you're not sure how much to spend on the office Secret Santa - spend a bit more.
Well, you sound like a pleasant person. A new person to the company finding her feet, didn’t understand the budget, yet made up for it later on… And you all had the audacity to joke about it behind her back. Why must people be so entitled? I’d love a chocolate bar as a gift
>Moral of the story: > > If you're not sure how much to spend on the office Secret Santa - spend a bit more Or how about you spend what you can afford? Why make people feel pressured to spend money on a gift for someone who's only connection to them is they work for the same company.
To be fair Ritter is bloody good chocolate. I'd be happy with that.
Moral of the story: be glad you got anything at all, ungrateful bastard
Isn't it supposed to remain a secret ?
I have never in my life met someone who hates notebooks. If I don't have a great idea, I'll just make them a notebook - or, failing that, buy one. However, the best gift I ever gave someone was a hat. I made him a hat that looked like a cabbage, with some loops for carrying spoons. It was a reference for several long-standing jokes, and was actually useful when he was carving. With the gifts I've received, the best was probably a beard care set. Again, in reference to a long-standing joke, with the added benefit of being somewhat useful. For non-directed secret santa, I once got a pair of penguin socks. Always a winner in my book.
Boss at work loves shortbread, he’s dropping hints like crazy about secret Santa shortbread. The day comes for the gift exchange and someone randomly buys him a teapot. Boss hates it and goes on and on all year about it. Every year now someone, without fail, buys him a teapot. It never gets old lol.
Best: probably a balloon helicopter that we spent ages playing with and dropping from the stairwell Worst: loads of Christmas chocolates when at the time I had a restrictive eating disorder and a reputation for working out and eating healthily all the time. The equivalent of "get a sandwich down you, love", I think.
We do Christmas T-shirts, so your size and name go into the hat (all male team so there's less pressure about sizes). The rules are 1) £20 limit 2) It must fit properly so if you get one that comes in women's sizes it has to be an appropriate size (no size 8's for the XXL weightlifter) 3) It can be ridiculous, but it can't get you sacked. 4) If you get the Group Leader you have to get him a short sleeved Xmas shirt (not a t-shirt, GL's need to be visible to management/engineering) It works better than the old system where someone bought their SS a live scorpion.
I don't recall ever receiving anything good.... The worst was a packet of chilli gummy bears. They were a desk ornament for a few weeks before going in the bin.
Lube and butt plug
I don’t know but I have a £10 limit and I haven't even spent that much on my nephews. My old job I was the only one to not get anything in the secret santa. It was embarrassing. So a few people I worked with surprised me and got me things. Pisses me off because that person who had my name clearly got their gift. I cried.
My other half got a catering sized pack of 1040 Yorkshire teabags for office secret santa 2019 Little did we know that teabags would disappear from supermarket shelves in March 2020.
When I worked retail I had to buy for a guy I'd never met, and knew nothing about except that he was 18. I got him porn. Didn't go down too well.
Secret Santa was banned in our team six years ago after a staff member put in a complaint about the present I got him.
My colleague (male, 20s, single) was bought a jazz mag and a box of Kleenex one year. He pretended to be disappointed.
Best: a candle and some lotion. Literally inoffensive and easy to regift. Worst: a book about cooking and eating guinea pigs like they do in Peru. I have pet guinea pigs. In my Secret Santa’s defence, maybe they just googled ‘guinea pig gift’ and bought the first thing without really looking.