AIBU about Christmas presents from work?

@Merryoldgoat yes i do. This year I managed to give it back to my boss as she stayed long enough for me to open them and realise what they were. But yes, I do bin them normally. She was surprised - but understood when I explained I couldn’t use them and would just bin them otherwise.
Any gifts I can’t charity shop or hand back to the originator to reuse I just bin. Would you prefer it if I gave wine to my alcoholic neighbour?
Hence preferring a voucher.

I do say to anyone who is remotely bothered to ask, that we don’t do Christmas in any way shape or form, so would much prefer they didn’t include us in their card or gift etc exchanges. If they decide to ignore that’s then it is their problem.

I love a bottle of fizz and choccies ☺️!

Whoever moaned last year gets their £15 donated to a charity of your choice this year!

I don’t get anything from work (public sector). We used to get a food & drink hamper from DH’s work but in the covid years they swapped to Amazon gift cards delivered to work email addresses and haven’t changed back. It must be much easier for them. Value is more than £15 though and I think wine and chocolate is a sensible use of that budget!

I'd bloody love it if I got wine and chocolates from my employer! AND a party as well. Your colleagues are whinging ungrateful gits. What do people expect? A bespoke item tailored to each individual employee's precise likes and dislikes?!

Many years ago when I was in my early 20s, extremely skint, and working in the private sector for a small company, a photographer my boss and I both worked with once sent us two bottles of champagne at Christmas. They were both different brands, and one was pink champagne and the other wasn't, so almost certainly regifted. The pink one was in a much smarter box and was a famous brand and my boss snaffled that one immediately, so I got the other one by default. I took it to my mum and dad's on Christmas Day and said 'I got given this at work, thought we could open it this morning' and my dad, who really knows his wine, said 'Er... you know this is worth about £300?'

Since then I don't think I've had a single work-related gift, but I still think of that champagne every Christmas...

Give them the choice.

Appreciative employees can have booze and chocs as usual

Tell the others you've donated their 15 quid to charity to people who don't get the luxury to moan about presents as they're too busy trying to survive.

Miserable shits.

Being in education all of those perks sound amazing! I would so happy to be gifted wine and chocs, instead we have a secret santa for £5 limit and pay for our own get together. I do believe some people are so spoilt and just don't have a bloody clue and should just stop moaning.

Oh for crying out loud. Must employers go through every likely scenario when contemplating gift giving? I can't drink wine, if I was given any from work I gave it to a friend. I didn't moan about not being "exactly the spirit of a gift", but then I don't expect gifts from my workplace either. When did people get so entitled that getting something they don't actually want becomes such a big issue?

Honestly OP, I wouldn't have even bothered asking on MN because this is the sort of rubbish which always gets spouted.

I'd be happy with wine and chocolate even though I don't really drink nowadays (breastfeeding but even before pregnancy I'd basically gone off it). You can't please everyone. Some won't like vouchers either (I also would like amazon vouchers!). I wouldn't want JL because there isn't one that close and as others said it wouldn't go far.

If anyone else on the thread receives chocolate they don't want this year please feel free to post it to me!

I have worked in many places and have never known people turn their noses up at chocolates or wine. If they didn't drink they took it home for family or friends and there seem to be more chocolate haters on this thread than I have ever come across in real life.

You don’t have a single friend who eats chocolate or drinks wine? A neighbour? Postman? How weird.

I cannot believe people would throw food and drink away instead of just giving it to someone?!!! If you don’t have any friends, family, neighbours, just give it to someone at work?

You won’t be able to please everyone, people may object to Amazon!!

I think wine and chocolate is fine. I don’t like chocolate but can easily give away. Personally I don’t expect people to have to cater for my individual needs for something like a one off bonus.

I’d give them £15 gift card to Amazon or Starbucks or something and let them buy their own thing

Whatever they are given some people will complain - the entitlement of some people is beyond belief!

I wouldn't be bothering about even listening to people who whinge - they either take it, or leave it! The majority of people don't even get a gift (which is fine by the way, you get paid to work, no gift is necessary).

Agreed. I’m an alcoholic in recovery, when I was drinking I’d have been very happy with a bottle, now I’m not it’s useful to give to dc going out (calm down, they’re in their 20s) take to book club etc.

@Merryoldgoat Nope not a soul who would take them. Sorry to be misery!
My Dh doesn’t drink or eat chocolate either. I just handed them back to my boss to deal with.

I think people bond through moaning. Some at my work love to moan about such irrelevant things but it’s their thing.

I think vouchers are a decent idea but then people will moan about the low value and not having an actual physical present. You’ll never please everyone. Personally I’d love a present like this. I work in public sector so don’t get anything.

Because our local ones do not want alcohol or small boxes of unsealed chocolates (which is what we got). They want items like tinned foods, toiletries and cereals. So they will only bin it. It’s like donating rubbish to a charity shop - needless and thoughtless.

Why on earth would you throw unwanted food away and not donate to a food bank?

I would prefer ms voucher if I had to choose. But I don’t drink wine and chocolate is no longer something I eat at all. So in the bin it goes which is a waste.

Local government. Our Christmas gift was more redundancy notices.

Even if you just put cash in a card there would be somebody not happy,i think if your going to do vouchers then a amazon or marks and spencers one would be the best bet unless you have a local waitrose as my nearest one is 70 miles away a voucher for there would be useless ,and would struggle to get something from John lewis without having to add money to buy something