To think this is a strange way to do Secret Santa?

[Fancylike]

My office has announced a Secret Santa but has set a minimum price of £40. There’s no maximum but you have to spend over £40 on a single gift. I’m new to the company but every SS I’ve done previously had a maximum spend, not a minimum and it’s always been £5-10.

This just seems like a lot of money to spend on coworkers you may not know well (I work in a different department to the name I pulled so have to research them) and also having a minimum doesn’t sit well with me given the disparity in salaries across the office. I’m new so I don’t want to rock the boat by asking if the organiser got mixed up but it’s also been made clear we all need to participate.

“£40 of food/pet food/clothes was donated to X charity in your name”
https://www.givetoday.co.uk/donate/

Then nothing is wasted.

( and whoever thought that up in your office should be hung, drawn and quartered)

Have you seen the friends episode where Ross moves into the new building and refuses to contribute to the handyman retiring? Be careful 😆

but yes £40 is ridiculous

@caringcarer

thats a great idea!!

I need to organise a fairly budget meal out (not budget budget, but nowhere 'niiiice' so I'll have a look at the menu. It could be several meals for the charity.

being vegetarian the Toby Carvery isn't somewhere I'd usually go, but I'll go have a look

thanks

If you can afford to, I would do the charity donation option. Then nothing is wasted.

If £40 is a stretch, do the buying something much cheaper option and brazen it out. What are they going to do?

I would go on Vinted and get something cheap but worth £40.

If you're well paid and really have to participate do a goat charity donation or Medecenes sans Frontieres.

At least someone will get something out of it and might put the skids underneath it for next year.

This. How will they ever know exactly how much the OP spent.

They’re popular with a lot of people but another group of people consider them a bit naff. The jars with the photos, the coloured wax, the scents - not considered very chic.

if its a secret santa noones going to know who the gift is off go to poundland lol

@penjil I love a candle too, but find the Ysnkee ones tacky and very artificial. If I got one from Secret Santa it would be off to the charity shop.

Because they’re naff, smell fake and overly sweet and come in strange unnatural colours. There’s a reason they always appear in shops like TK Maxx and home sense.

Bit of paper, "IOU £40", done

Absolutely no way would I be joining in this in any way at all.

I don't even spend that much on my own mother at Christmas.

Can you find out if they did the same last Christmas or try and speak to some others to see what they think of the cost? Maybe it's something you can drop into conversation and if others feel the same maybe something can be done. That's a ridiculous amount to spend on a work secret santa.

The older I get, the less I'm worried about causing a fuss.

id just say 'No thank you' then when they say it's not optional, ask the how they intend to enforce me spending £40 of MY money?

id give less than 2 💩 if they put a black mark against my name! I'd love to see them try to defend me not passing probation due to not going along with extortion attempts.

but if you're younger & genuinely worried about your probation period & can afford to then I'd try hard to get the person a nice gift & ignore the £40 minimum.

in a way I think having a larger amount to spend, is better than a lot of £5 tat that gets thrown away. But a minimum of £40 is bloody ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous!

It doesn't help you now, but if you get a new job in the future, just tell them you are a Jehovah's Witness so don't celebrate Christmas, Birthdays etc.

It will get you out of many awkward spots and you can even avoid having to sign the communal birthday cards that get sporadically passed round

TBF I have never known a secret Santa to remain secret. ALWAYS assume you will be figure out as the giver.

Every secret Santa I have done I have been handed the item BY the person so hardly 'secret'.

Jeeez, I’ve never spent that much on my bestie of 40 years let alone some random at my new company! Sorry but I would have to raise it with someone higher up. I don’t see how you can compel employees to do this.

Whilst these charity ideas are nice and twee, it's not fair on the recipient. Who is partaking on the understanding they will receive a gift.

Not everyone has people to buy for them.

Sorry to derail the thread for a second....

If you like candles, why don't you like Yankee Candles?

I thought they were "the thing" with all their hundreds of different ones?

@penjil maybe once upon a time but not for at least 10 years. There are much nicer ones around now.

@Fancylike do you know the person’s gender? I’d buy something slightly more expensive but that’s an everyday item. Example: just recently off a MN thread I bought some Turtle Doves cashmere fingerless gloves. They cost about £24 on sale. I think the key is to give something nice and that feels valuable and useful even though it’s less than £40.

Another idea is maybe a gift card to a place like a Japanese food and item store. That’ll feel out of the ordinary but still exciting. If you don’t want to give a gift card, then put together a basket of a few items that are fun to try but still less than £40. Authentic Japanese sauces, good ramen, fun cookies or wasabi chocolate crisps, etc. The novelty would make up for the small price.

Yes, charity gifts can be very offensive unless you know specifically its a charity they support and care for.

As much as people like to think everyone shares the same views and values a lot of charities are a political issue.

Like for example I know many animal lovers that do NOT support the RSPCA on moral grounds due to the number of animal put down etc... but they do volunteer for local small animal rescues.

Also you are fully right that someone might not get something from anyone else. I have seen single mams living away from family on posts of worst xmases very upset that they bought a lovely secret santa and in return got cheap crap back, a joke gift or even nothing and thats all they got that year. Not every one is in a good place or fortunate to get spoiled by family and partners etc...

I'd be saying I was unable to participate due to costs, that's extortionate especially to spend on someone you don't really know

Usually it's £5-10.

Apparently it’s compulsory, so they’re partaking because they have no choice, not because they want a gift. In this situation I’d rather someone donated to charity in my name than receive something I probably won’t like and will probably ultimately add to landfill.

Stand your ground. It's all a big pile of nonsense. I've refused to take part on several occasions and it's never been a problem.

No, I would absolutely not be participating. I'd be making a massive fuss if I was being pressured into this. They cannot make it compulsory to fork over £40 for a gift. I'm pissed off on your behalf.