Secret Santa disappointment, anyone else?

[youcanonlydraftthefuture]

We had a 'minimum' spend in our office of £10. Highest was £20 max.

I spend about £18 and bought my secret Santa a Emma Bridgewater mug, her favourite chocolate and a fancy bubble bath she's well known to adore.

I got... A flimsy mug with cheap chocolates inside.

The previous year (a different office), I was given a pair of socks from Poundland and a small pack of M&M's, the spend limit there was £15.

AIBU to wonder how people can be so mean?

DH is usually well known for this kind of cheeky fuckery, usually re-gifting a naff toiletry set from someone. However, last year he was bought a Peroni glass and beer which he loves so makes the effort now.

There are honestly people out there who think under a certain amt the only option is to go into a charity shop-they don't consider sales or mini items

lovely wine bottle opening set in a funky wine bottle shaped holder

I'd be happy to receive that

It’s nice of you to put lots of effort in but you can’t expect everyone else to do the same. To avoid disappointment in future, just give a generic box of chocs.

I’m not doing it this year. I find it stressful and awkward.

We do a fun one where every one buys a present for a max of a tenner and they're all put in a lucky dip and when it's your turn you can pull a gift out of the dip or steal someone else's present. There's usually one or two popular gifts that everyone keeps stealing and it's all just a laugh.

But the ones where you have to draw a name and buy for that person don't always work out that well. Some people put in little or no effort, or completely lack imagination while others buy really thoughtful or witty presents and it all ends up very uneven.

I got a really shit 'supposed to be funny' Secret Santa a few years ago. I'd put a lot of effort into the present I bought so i was a bit

Haven't done it since. Clearly I look like a bah humbug but that put me off

I think it’s a shame .
We don’t do it at my office but I helped dh pick out a really nice gift for secret Santa at his work and he really wanted it to be personal as the person he got is also very thoughtful.
We chose a bonsai as this guy has just moved into a new apartment and likes to travel and enjoys gardening so we thought something like that would be nice .
Maybe we were wrong though !

any minute now I expect there will be someone whining that their CF SIL always buys pound shop chocolates or they are the one no one buys a gift for...

These seem like legit gripes to me?

Sweet Petrichor - I was thinking "that isn't an awful gift" until I got to the part that said you didn't own a car! Then I laughed out loud!

Someone once bought me one of those Smirnoff gift sets... I was 4 months pregnant. We do a Poundshop one now.... it's funny and no one can get too upset over £1.

I think the problem is not just the financial side of things but the fact that some people clearly put a lot of thought and effort into sourcing gifts, whereas others don't seem to give a damn. I recall DSib spending hours last year looking for just the right top/T-shirt for one of their work colleagues (think the value of SS was £15 in their group).

I don’t think you can be annoyed at people for not wanting to source the prefect present for somebody they work with that they might not even know. Especially if the secret Santa is forced on them . Maybe they have zero free time and care for relatives when they are not working . Who knows ? Maybe they are just lazy and can’t be bothered but it’s all random so just your luck all part of the fun.

*perfect

Yes, I do think the issue in some workplaces is that people feel under pressure to join in, and resentful about the pressure, so they'll do what they are told but not make any effort. And (when it's one of those where HR or the office twat are forever trotting round jokingnotjoking nagging everyone to participare) you can't really blame them. It's the same as a raffle or a lucky dip - don't expect anything special (from work colleagues who may not even know who you are, let alone care) and you won't be disappointed.

OP, if you are really fussed about the disparity between the suggested spend range(min £10) and what you spent (max £20) then I’m
Sorry but it is on you. You chose to go to the upper limit.

Your SS probably hasn’t got the spare cash or the inclination. Next year, if there is still
A range of 1-20 (stupid idea BTW) spend the minimum on the SS and the other £10 On yourself.

Also, Bit grabby. Sorry

Where did this silly idea come from? I don't ever recall hearing about SS until this century.

This is the first year the team I'm working with are doing it. Two members of the team got management and did not have a clue what to get, so.i helped them both.
For mine.i got the newest member of the team so I got them a packet survival kit with random bits in and a box of chocolates

I don't ever recall hearing about SS until this century.

It's older than that - I remember taking part in a work one in the 90s.

@ScreamingValenta clearly I didn't work in the right places!

I hate Secret Santa, fortunately we’ve stopped doing them where I work. If you don’t get someone who puts the same effort in, it’s hideous.

I was gifted some chocolate mints in the shape if willies. So not my thing. I gave them to my then three year old DS, told him they were shamrocks.

We do this at work and I’ve managed to get some things I like and some ok gifts... Our rules are a spend of between £5 to £10.
Worst year though I got a bag of those M&S mock Brussels sprouts chocolates and nothing else. They cost £1. Someone conned me!

At our secret Santa, someone bought £10 worth of scratch cards for someone else. However when they opened them they had already been scratched with a note saying - hard luck!

I gave them to my then three year old DS, told him they were shamrocks

Such a bizarre thing to get worked up about. Also, so many reasons why the giver of the gift that apparently cost nothing in terms of expense or effort may have acted in the way they did - lack of money, personal stuff going on at home, literally anything. And opting out of this kind of stuff is not always simple. If money is so tight that you worry about scraping enough bus fare together to get to work, any thought of drawing colleagues attention to your circumstances is mortifying. I speak from experience (thankfully a long time ago now).

YaBU and sound a bit over-invested in secret santa tbh. We dont have it at work due to some "HR issues" it caused but its just a bit of fun.