I know there unreasonable but £30 is insane!

I need to neon-light my sarcasm in the future. (I thought the smiley was enough)

Yeah this. My DH spent around £12 on a Secret Santa a few years ago (2019 I think,) on the person he had been allocated to buy for, and the person who was meant to get him something got fuck-all. He was the only one without anything, and was actually a bit hurt - and annoyed by it.

16 people opening gifts at the Christmas lunch at the pub, and he was the only one without a gift. All he got was 'awwww poor Dave!' sad face/tilted head! He has never taken part since. There has never been a Christmas do since either. Covid stopped them for 2 years and they never restarted. But they still do Secret Santa in the office. They have asked him to take part since but he has stuck to his guns and said 'No!'

I think the onus should be on the Manager to make sure everyone has got a gift/bought a gift, and no-one should be allowed to 'forget.' (If they said they would take part of course.) The woman who forgot to get my DH a gift said she didn't have time to get anything. 🙄 She happily took HER gift though! There's not a soul alive who doesn't have time to just pick up a little novelty gift out of B & M or Home Bargains or Asda - or anywhere really. She just couldn't be fucked!

That's an obscene amount.

Instead of secret santa and people giving other people shite tat they don't want, at my work we all decided to bring in £5-£10 worth of items that would be welcome at food banks. It was all put into a big box in the staff room and then donated at the end of term.

I find this time of year with the pressure to spend, spend, spend rather difficult. From mid September onwards the pressure starts, Halloween is getting bigger every year , then there is Bonfire night and finally Christmas. I am so glad all the kids in my family have grown up, it must be so difficult for parents especially given that the essentials of living cost so much. £30 for a Secret Santa is obscene, it is thoughtless and tasteless and assumes that people all have money to chuck around buying tat for people they may well not even like very much. I thought the whole point of Secret Santa was to get very small gifts that were either funny or from a charity.

Except that the 'nitpicking' was only the OP correcting some typos themselves!!

“So she is above me and can tell me not to say she said to put £30.”

she can’t tell you not to if you’ve already done it !
Such a shame if she didn’t make herself clear 😉

No way. £10-15 is reasonable, imo.

Sod Dawn.

"Times are tight, so please, please don't spend more than £30"

You'll have both complied with her and stuck your fingers up at her.

I agree with most people that this is an outrageous amount of money for secret Santa. It's usually just meant to be a bit of fun. At my old school it was under £10 and you spread it over the last 5 days of term to help everyone keep going till the end!! Either lots of small things like chocolate each day or jokes for 4 days and something better on the last. Best one someone did was day 1: swizzle stick, day 2: plastic cocktail glass, day 3: ice cube tray, day 4: lemon, day 5: mini gin and tonic. More inventive, fun and cheap.

£30 is about my birthday / christmas limit for my nieces/nephews and godchildren (maybe I'm tight??), there's no way I'd spend that on a colleague I don't know, particularly if there's a likelihood of receiving a ridiculous item of tat in return.

Yes, if she hasn't specifically said she doesn't want to be mentioned in the email, I'd probably still go that route, unless you're comfortable going over her head and approaching someone with better sense.

I'm sorry but no - organising a secret santa is not apart of 'other duties needed within the office'.

If shes being an arse, raise it with the Head and point blank refuse.

change it to £5 and with a nod to the environment all gifts must be sourced 2nd hand/from charity shops.

She'll have "plenty of time" to find something.

You could just keep putting it off and just not send the email and force her to do it herself ... not very professional but meh fuck her and her smug attitude.

Unless 'Dawn' has specifically banned you from mentioning her, go to it, OP - I doubt she's thought to do so.

"Dawn has asked me to tell everyone this year's Secret Santa list is now open. She suggests a budget of £30 and that you sign up to Elfster (link attached) by 31st of October, when you will emailed your recipient."

Miss a 0 off.

£30 is too much! I used to love Secret Santa and enjoy giving gifts (and I am generous in so doing) but £30 on someone who is not a close friend or family member is too much.

£5 or £10 is more likely.

If I were you I'd suggest she lowers the budget and sends it herself

Considering that in every Secret Santa I've ever heard of, someone (or several someones) get random (useless to them) crap and someone 'forgets' to buy anything at all, the stakes are too high at that price. Making it clear that it's her idea is the only way, then sit back and watch the reactions...

I earn a reasonable amount. Zero chance I would be participating in a £30 work secret santa. I don't take part in them anyway as I have enough to do without buying presents for people I don't really know.

Secret santa if it must take place, should be a jokey thing with a £10 limit. Or suggest a children's toy donation for a charity instead.

I would speak to the Head and the EA and say you think £30 is too much.

You have agency here.

Exactly!
OP, u need to be assertive and inform your manager that u r not happy to take this on. End of

@angeldelite well I wouldn't. To buy a gift for someone from work who isn't your friend? I'd spend what I could afford, which would be a tenner or less.

I don’t get it – has she specifically asked you not to say this?!

So weird…

Eugh, I could think of nothing worse than forced festivities. I never attend Christmas night outs or anything like that, they always feel like "team days" ...bowk!

That's ridiculous. A tenner is far more suitable. £30 FFS. I don't spend that much on friends and extended family! Like fuk would I be spending that on a work colleague that I probably don't even like!