To hate secret Santa?

[Abbicob]

This year gifts are up to a maximum of £10.

Whatever happened to the secret Santa where you had a £1 gift limit and you had to buy the best thing you could for it .

I used to love finding really great "unusual" gifts and now it just seems like buying any other gift now.

[gordyslovesheep]

I don't think it's compulsory - so yabu - don't do it!

[w3dnesday]

One year i got 1 part of a buy one get one free deal from the Body Shop, I was NOT HAPPY]

[Justforlaughs]

I love them but think a £5 limit is more than enough and they have to be "silly" presents and they need to be opened at the time. I've stopped initiating them in work because they all started buying bottles of wine and chocolates and then they started taking them home to open on Christmas where's the fun in that. YANBU to hate what it's become but the original idea is great.

[KellyMarieTunstall]

My dippy friend bought for his £1 secret santa gift a single packet of sweets that had 3 for £1 emblazoned all over it. He never buys sweets and genuinely though it was £1 each.

It did NOT go down well

[Pastabee]

We're doing 'secret scrooge' this year. You have to spend £1 on what you believe would be the exact opposite of you believe the person would choose.

I am very proud of my £1 One Direction stationary set for a rock loving, Paperchase addict!

[nickelrocketgoBooooooom]

I like it when they're themed.

and maybe £10 is because of the crap that people would buy.
(most people don't do inventive or thoughtful shopping)

[WelshMaenad]

Recession, innit, can't get 'owt for a pound these days.

[mrskeithrichards]

We've done a fiver in a charity shop before!

[Meglet]

yanbu.

I refuse to participate anymore. It's just wasting time and money buying more tat for people.

[CommanderShepard]

I got a knitting book last year. Every pattern was absolutely hideous. Hideous!

To this day I can't work out if someone bought it for me because I like to knit or if it was my deskmate taking the piss

[Amyo83]

Steal-able Secret Santa works really well in an office. Rules as follows:

Everyone buys a present for around a set amount but you don't know who you're buying for. On the day of the Secret Santa everyone puts their wrapped presents in a pile. An 'organiser' then hands out raffle tickets.

The organiser picks out one raffle ticket and whoever it is gets to choose a present from the pile and open it in front of everyone. The organiser picks another number out the hat and that person can either choose a present from the pile or if they want, steal the other person's present. If a person's present is stolen from them, they go back to the pile and open another present.

Another number is called from the hat and so on.

Depending on the number of people involved a present can be stolen up to two or three times. However if you're present is stolen from you, you can't steal a present from someone else, you have to go back to the pile.

This is really fun. You'll find presents that people are offering to be stolen because they really want to try another present from the pile or you get presents that end up being coveted and stolen up to three times.

Worth a try. My mum did it at work and we now do it when having a family Christmas as a bit of fun.

[Quenelle]

I'm with Meglet. Office SS is utterly unnecessary and a pointless waste of money. I'm not so desperate for something to unwrap that I want to be given supposedly funny plastic tat that will go straight to landfill or smellies I don't like from someone I hardly know.

I refused to do it last year and felt entirely vindicated for being a 'Scrooge' and a 'party pooper' when almost everyone who did take part confessed last week that their gift was still in their desk drawer a year later.

[Quenelle]

I'm with Meglet. Office SS is utterly unnecessary and a pointless waste of money. I'm not so desperate for something to unwrap that I want to be given supposedly funny plastic tat that will go straight to landfill or smellies I don't like from someone I hardly know.

I refused to do it last year and felt entirely vindicated for being a 'Scrooge' and a 'party pooper' when almost everyone who did take part confessed last week that their gift was still in their desk drawer a year later.

[OliviaMumsnet]

What themed SS's have there been?
Sounds good

[Kveta]

I LOVE secret santa! We did a £5 limit, the organiser knew who had who, and could thus be asked for ideas if necessary, it wasn't compulsory, and was great fun.

Our post natal thread are doing one this year, I'm looking forward to it!

themes can be home made, pound shop tat, edible, not sure of any others though.

[GetOrfAKAMrsUsainBolt]

I normally loathe it, and think it keeps Boots afloat with those ghastly 3 for 2 giftsets which are a complete waste of time and money.

But - my office has a 99p shop bad taste secret santa. So I will probably buy someone a novelty ashtray or something, and get a packet of denture grip in return. A waste of money yes but at least it is only a quid and a competition to find the worst thing.

[Levantine]

I hate it. Totally cringe making, we all open our presents in a big circle round the office and they are always sensible, not quite right kinds of things.

The only thing that goes down well is a bunch of national lottery tickets, but my colleague has already bagged that

[HappyMummyOfOne]

I think they are fun, we have done lots of silly ones that are fun for last days of work. There was most silly present, most useless gadget, something in christmas colours of red, white, green and few others. Very small amount spent and we have a charity box throughout the year so anything truly unwanted benefits charity.

[ChairOfTheBored]

YANBU I really don't like it. Last year I managed to convince my colleagues to all chip in £5 each to the Refuge Christmas list instead - much better way to spend your cash, and I didn't have to re-gift any tasteless tat.

[Poppetspinkpants]

I received an adult Join the Dots book a few years ago.

I caught DD1 happily sitting there joining up the dots sometime later.

Had to snatch the book away before the questions began about why the man has an extra leg sticking up in the air.

[reallyboredatwork]

Wrap up some Caneston Thrush and wait for the look on their little faces.

[Freshbloodletticia]

Bloody hate it so much I now make any excuse not to go to the office do in order to avoid it.
It is the sheer waste of unwanted tat that really offends me, not the cost.

[missymoomoomee]

When I was 16 and in my 1st 'proper' job we had a secret santa. We had to buy 'something that you do at weekends' I was only about a month into the job so I didn't really know anyone and they were all a fair bit older than me.

I was horrified when they passed the bag around and people picked their presents, there were little patchwork/craft sets, knitting needles and wool, a set of rollers and a hairbrush, I got a cassette of someone playing the bagpipes, then Elsie, the 67 year old cook got the chocolate body paint and 3 pack of condoms I bought.... I thought it was really funny at the time. Apparently no-one shared my sense of humour.

[LivingThings]

Just dont do it - I refuse to get involved in ths sort of carp.