Worst secret santa gift you've received?

[buddhasbelly]

Mine was gin infused chocolates, when the whole office knows I'm a recovering alcoholic.

Please tell me your worst secret santa gifts you've received?

My office pal got the chocolates 😂

[Pippapet]

A giant wine glass that holds an entire bottle of wine.

Impractical, hard to store, hard to drink from and I don't even like wine

[maddiemookins16mum]

Love beads.

[AuntMargo]

I was the cubbiest at work and one of the male thought it was hilarious to buy me a pair of those huge joke knickers ! I was mortified and really embarrassed. It was about 18yrs ago and we worked in public sector too. I got my own back several yeas later with a Cliff Richard calendar and passed a rumour he had a huge crush, he was ridiculed much more than I ever was.

[HerbertChops]

I was lucky and always got nice things like a little manicure set in a pretty case and nice smellies that I’d actually use. I once bought snowdrop bulbs in a nice pot for someone who I knew loved gardening. When she saw it wrapped she thought someone had bought her a Christmas pudding, she was happy when she opened it!! That same year another colleague was really upset as she was given two rolls of cling film. The men in the office were useless and would buy stuff like that thinking they were funny, it’s not funny when you’ve spent time finding something nice for someone else though.

[buddhasbelly]

@DriveInSaturday which you could then regift for years to come. All these shoddy Xmas soap and candle companies and brands slapped on 3for2 at Boots are just doing their bit for the environment

[REP22]

A cucumber and a packet of sugar puffs. Utterly bizarre.

A few years later, and the year before Covid, this was my best one: www.amazon.co.uk/Dog-Butt-Off-Color-Coloring-Lovers/dp/1640011803/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&keywords=dogs%20butt&qid=1638553464&sr=1-1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 Still colouring it in these days!

[ImInStealthMode]

No one's actually bought a Baylis and Harding set since 2010, its just the same ones in their very own circular economy.

[DriveInSaturday]

buddhasbelly I won a big prize in DS's school Christmas raffle once. It turned out to be a huge Christmassy cardboard box containing what must have been all the Boots 3 for 2 gifts and scented candles that the teachers had been given over the last few years.

[buddhasbelly]

Baylis and harding sets = emergency raffle present when called upon. Which then probably get put back into a secret santa.

No one's actually bought a Baylis and Harding set since 2010, its just the same ones in their very own circular economy.

[AlfonsoTheUnrepentant]

I knew someone who, every year, gave everyone bottles of homemade dandelion wine. She was terminally offended that it might not be everyone's ideal gift.

[ImInStealthMode]

An old-fashioned flat advent calendar with nativity pictures behind the doors. Worth about £1 of the £10 suggested budget. We did Secret Santa exchange in the middle of the month

Worst received, a keyring onto which you could record short voice notes, for the accountant who kept locking himself out of the building and not knowing the entry code. I thought it would be useful. Ungrateful bugger

[MsFannySqueers]

@LifeIsTricky that’s awful!

[jingletits44]

Not particularly bad but the endless amount of Baylis and Harding gift sets ive ended up with over the years is criminal. I always try to put a bit of thought into a secret Santa and get something at least a little bit personal. So to get those soulless, boring gift sets back every year just puts me off the whole thing. Humbug.

[MsFannySqueers]

A jar of jam! I spent several years working with a horrible group of people who all sat around every Christmas opening lovely SS gifts they had bought each other while I always had some random shit. Even though they were vile I still made an effort with my SS gift. One of the benefits of retirement no more SS!

[LifeIsTricky]

3 packs of nurofen, "because you're always popping pills"... I have an array of health problems which require 24 tablets a day to keep me alive... I am also allergic to ibuprofen!

[TheChosenTwo]

I haven’t done mine for years due to all this nonsense! Some of these are downright fucking horrible.
To be fair I like the team I work with but due to Covid restrictions and bubbles largely remaining in place for the last 18 months (work in a school) I haven’t even met a lot of the ‘new’ starters who have been with us for over a year.
I would like to say none of my colleagues would buy anything inappropriate, they’re more likely to go down the practical but possibly a bit impersonal route but it’s the safest option if you don’t properly know the person to be honest.
I got the boss once, she was new, went with L’Occitain tin of 3 mini handcreams and a box of hotel chocolat treats.
Boring but consumable and safe!

[my8thMNusername]

Edible ants from Harrods

[Snuggleworm]

@SpiderinaWingMirror

It was a near miss but so inept.
Team Leader was clueless. She thought I was Laura, but I am Louise. She bought a gift and wrote Laura on it. Apparently it was a candle of a womans vvvv large breasts. I am blessed with norkage but in no way did the team give each other such gifts. Laura has gone off on leave and took the gift with her to out under her parents tree.Laura was flat chested and sensitive about it....

Oh my lord, I am sorry but I really laughed at this one.

[momager1]

I banned secret santa for this year for my staff. I will hand out small gifts to everyone at our party (which is in January, as we have NO time in december for us all to be together due to reservations in the restaurant) So in Jan I will be ordering in Pizza so no staff has to cook (we are a bar and grill and specialize in steaks) will give them all a little token gift, and open the bar for free to them. Also have hired a small school bus (there are only aobut 27 of us) to pick them all up at home...and drop them all off at 11 pm at home. I banned secret santa after last year... one of our servers is about 6 foot 7... and very openly gay. It was no reason for the person that picked his name to get him a tiara and a disney magic wand. He was hurt. I also had bought 3 extra gifts just incase someone showed up without... yes. I needed them all and i even was relieved that a customer had given me a lovely box of chocolates the day before that i had not opened yet.. so i put the staff name on it. (luckily i knew what was in the wrapped box as he buys them for me every year for the last 20 or so), and they are a craft chocolate company in a town about 1 hour away, and amazing. If any of you are in Ontario Canada.. Check out Reo Thompson Chocolates from stratford ontario. I was miffed that i lost out on my mint smoothies chocolates lol

[CharityDingle]

@2bazookas

This thread has confirmed why no bargepole is long enough to keep my distance from Secret Santa.

Same here. It was proposed one time on a team I was on. I said I wouldn't be taking part. It can lead to horrible stuff imo. I know of a situation that ended up with HR when a would-be hilarious present really upset the recipient badly.

[2bazookas]

This thread has confirmed why no bargepole is long enough to keep my distance from Secret Santa.

[BackInBlackAgain]

I have only took part in secret santa twice, the first present was really nice (lovely smellies) and the second time was as collection of random things put together, candle, a christmas dinner plate etc, multi packs that had been split up but it was ok but i dont do them now as i really dont like the concept.

Poor DP always takes part and chooses really nice presents, tries to find out what his person likes and gets something nice for them. He however always seems to get utter shit.

One year the limit was £20, he got.. teeny tiny condoms that would only fit on your finger, the gifter was laughing her head off, he asked what he was supposed to do with them, she replied to put them on your fingers, he asked then what? she look puzzled then walked off. Went in the bin and a waste of the £5 she spent.

And he still participates and still gets crap and i put up with all the moaning.

[evtheria]

Nothing! I acted like I didn’t mind/hadn’t noticed despite us all being at our Christmas meal and manager handing out the secret Santa gifts, but when the penny dropped that I was the only one sat there without one he was furious. I was more upset wondering if the person hated me.

[Whitefire]

Some of these are just plain bullying by the giver.

[MintyGreenDream]

Not me but a colleague got a box of hair dye