Secret Santa-has anyone else had supposed bad luck with it? Lighthearted.

[Noodge]

I have been in four including this one.

First one, new team member got me and didn't get me anything. Blank stare when he was asked why (by me and others). I had got some lovely hair accessories for the woman I got, which were well received.

Second one, again I didn't get anything. This time the excuse was that his shift pattern meant he didn't have time. We all had differing shift patterns.

He was a smoker and I had bought him some very well-thought out smoke related things. I ended up giving them to my lovely manager who was also a smoker.

Third one, I as always bought some thoughtful presents-I was presented with a box of cheap brown hair dye. I dyed my hair bright colours at the time. There was no 'joke theme' or such for which it would have made sense, and I had no desire to dye my hair. Binned, and had cost a fraction of what I had spent and much lower than the budget given.

Two different work places.

This year, obviously not complete yet but a different workplace, and I have been given the name of a woman who really doesn't seem to like me. I have posted about her on here before, the way she addresses me is rude and unprofessional and she often allocates me more work than others. I like everyone else I work with!!

I end up with her. SO typical!

I almost opted out but nobody else seemed to want to and they're all excited about it so I didn't want to be a scrooge.

Anyone else?

He was a smoker and I had bought him some very well-thought out smoke related things. I ended up giving them to my lovely manager who was also a smoker.
Sorry but I find this choice of gift so odd. Like giving an alcoholic booze.

I don’t do secret Santa, my experiences are similar to yours, it’s like chucking a tenner in the bin AND giving myself an extra chore at the same time.

That's exactly how I feel about it. I just don't like the whole thing.

He was very 'flashy' and I bought him some sobrani cocktail cigarettes.

I don't think it's the same as giving an alcoholic alcohol-he wasn't trying to give up smoking at all.

My manager was a very flamboyant dresser, think long, velvet or patchwork coats and enormous sunglasses. They suited him so at least my present was appreciated.

I've been in a few at work.
One of them, I didn't get any gift, whoever was supposed to buy for me just didn't bother and didn't say anything so everyone opened something except me.
Another one we had a £10 target. I spent £15 because I really liked the person and had seen something for £15 that I knew they would love. Whereas the person buying for me went the other way and spend what I'd guess was £3-4.

I don't do them anymore. I've come to see it as a pointless thing to buy a gift for someone anonymously when you otherwise wouldn't buy a gift for that person.

Just say you don't want to do it anymore - it is all a massive swapping of tat no one wants anyway.

I hate it, Ive never known the colleague well enough, so just buy anything, I've never really liked anything I've been bought in return either. Fortunately my work aren't having a do this year!

I have already opted in this year but It's definitely the final straw!Did anything happen about you not getting a present @HoHoHoliday ? I suspect not-nothing at all happened when I did other than the organiser said 'well you could have picked Noodge something up before work? You may have not finished until late but you started late the next day? He just shrugged and that was it. Same the previous time.

What do you buy for someone who gets on your nerves at work? A copy of 'How to make friends and influence people'?😂

I worked with an ex boyfriend and he got me for secret Santa. He decided to not buy anything but I felt embarrassed and didn’t say. It was the manager who spotted it and made it into a big deal.

Off topic but I used to smoke, and cocktail sobranies are fabulous. I don’t know if you can even still get them but I used to order in bulk from a website and I felt so cool. Especially lighting them with my pink Zippo 😍

As far as crappy secret Santa - my worst ever was a ladybird shaped egg timer. Went straight in the bin. The same year, my colleague was given a vajazzling kit 😱

I have a French first name that has a more popular male counterpart so the gifter must have missed and assumed I was a man. I got mens socks hastily bought from a supermarket and some mens toiletries, sadly my husband couldn't even use the socks with his size 13 yeti feet but could at least use the toiletries 😅

You can still get them! I got some for the landlord of my local one year recently. https://www.smokelounge.co.uk/product-tag/sobranie/

Egg timer-hmm that's given me an idea of a crappy gift for the aforementioned annoying colleague!

Last year. Spent ages thinking of a really nice personal gift, that was within budget. Received a generic smellies set that didn't have a tag so was possibly also a regift. Humph.

I have higher hopes for this year, new(ish) workplace with a really lovely small team, and we all love Christmas!

That's my gripe with it too @Racooniverse . I spend a long time thinking up nice gifts and then get laden with crap in return (or nothing). I really hope to get something better this year. Apart from this rude woman that I have got, most people seem lovely so maybe I should remain optimistic. No idea what to get her though. Aside from her being rude, aloof and rubbish at her job I know nothing about her!

The same year, my colleague was given a vajazzling kit That is hilarious! 😂

I was a senior manager. 1 lady I'd been on the panel for her job interview 2 months earlier, and did several training sessions with her early on. At the gift giving day, I went up to her to ask how was she getting on etc. She disclosed that she had to buy a secret santa for JC03745, but had no idea who she was! I told her that it was me, but she kept talking and referring to JC as someone else and didn't believe me!
I ended up with some earrings that I still wear now, but have no idea why she was so confused?

Oh god-did they apologise or was anything done at all?
I'd have probably still used the men's socks though, just for lounging about if nothing else.

I refused to take part this year. Bad experiences in the past and work remotely so don’t even know my colleagues very well.

I thought Secret Santa was secret, so you didn't know who got you the present. (although you know it's not Santa, because he doesn't exist).

When I did participate (I don't it now) any rubbish present, well most of them actually, was re-wrapped for the next year!

Bah Humbug, you could say!

One of our more unpleasant Managers got a beautifully gift wrapped piece of coal. He was not amused, but we were. Never found out who did it.

a few years ago our budget was around £10.
the days before we swapped gifts a colleague was given a small cheap (£2ish) jokey piece of tat and was told “don’t worry this isn’t your secret Santa, I just saw this and thought it’d make you laugh…”
the next day we all sat there and opened our SS gifts… guess what I got? Yep the same piece of cheap tat ( a second one, the person hadn’t regifted she was just as shocked as me)
I’ve refused to do it ever since and told everyone exactly why.

Its a stream of disappointments over the years -

one year bizarrely a DVD with a recording of a television programme he thought I would like - this was admittedly 15 years ago or so when iplayer etc wasnt available. I had already seen the programme when it was first on. Binned.

Another year a mug which was potentially nice but had a chip in it from when it had been in the secret santa tub. Binned.

Another year a clear regift of a beauty set from Boots - fine but it was obviously a few years old; possibly received the year before?

In the past I cared more and so thought about and bought specific presents that I hoped the person would like, these days I just get a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates: something thats universal and can be passed on if not required.

I once bought some earrings for a work colleague as I thought they were pretty. She positively scowled at them when she opened the gift. I didn’t confess that they were from me as I was embarrassed. Maybe it was too personal a choice? We were on good terms so I didn’t think it was overstepping

I've been that person because I don't have pierced ears.

I think people in general are quite picky about the earrings they will and won't wear though.

The most amusing but also excruciating secret santa occasion for me was a few years ago when I worked for a charity. Like many charities it had been set up by a church but had moved on to be a general secular organisation. There was a mix of longer term staff who were more austere,and religious belieiving in the cause and younger staff for whom it was a job rather than their lifes mission.

One of the directors was a single woman in her late 50s who had joined when it was still more religious and was very good at her job but not very worldly. One of the men in accounts was a bit of joker and so he got her some Anne Summers lingerie which caused embarassment and sharp intakes of breath all round. She seemed to take it in good spirits so who knows maybe she actually liked it? This caused some concerns among the HR staff and the following year guidelines were sent around directling us to more 'neutral' gifts.

I always put time and thought into the gifts I buy, and I enjoy watching the recipient open their present. One year (my first at this particular place of work) our big boss was buying for me. Except she massively stuffed up and bought for someone else. That person received two gifts, I got nothing. We worked out that there had been an error, so the person who received two gifts gave me one of hers...a bottle of horrible sweet wine that was disgusting (she didn't want it for that reason). Really made me felt like I was a part of the team.

Is this year's receiver your boss? If so... www.amazon.co.uk/How-Not-Suck-Manager-Basement/dp/0974473723?dplnkId=0d49cd50-e964-44db-81cd-f225b20ea304

I'd buy her a butt plug so she can literally shove it up her a**e 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 it's anonymous so go for it 😬👀