Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Anyone else's Secret Santa gift go down like a lead balloon!

33 replies

RomulanBattleBagel · 20/12/2013 09:03

Hmmph. At least the others pretended to like theirs! :o

Hoping my face wasn't burning too much and giving me away.

Hopefully once they use the gift (it was a game, I know they like games) they will realise it's actually pretty good (packaging a bit lame), but still Blush

OP posts:
ggirl · 20/12/2013 09:07

mine didn't bloody open it

chanie44 · 20/12/2013 14:12

I bought a gingerbread house kit - the person has gone on holiday, so it's currently sitting on their desk until the new year. By which time, it will be ridiculous.

MelanieRavenswood · 20/12/2013 14:18

I gave one which went a bit wrong once - a mug which said "Drama Queen" on it to someone who was indeed a bit of a drama queen. She did have a sense of humour though so I thought it would be ok. She was pretty unimpressed but I don't think she knew it was me.

Peppermintlover · 20/12/2013 14:20

I bought someone with frizzy hair a frizz ease gift set, what was I thinking?! I clearly wasn't!!

RatherBeOnThePiste · 20/12/2013 14:20

I was given a vajazzle set one year. That was hard to pretend to like!

I have tried in the past and not got the reaction I wanted, tis tricky innit.

Hassled · 20/12/2013 14:21

I gave something pretty bland and uninspired, and received something pretty bland and uninspired. I think most of us were thinking "WTF do we bother with this?" - which is a shame, as we all get on. I'll try and get something a bit more personal next year.

Coconutty · 20/12/2013 14:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Charmingbaker · 20/12/2013 14:29

I once got given a children's pop up book. I managed a fake 'thank you' and appreciative smile, but everyone else around me just stood open mouthed, with puzzled expressions.

ouryve · 20/12/2013 14:34

Secret santas are so much better when they're either meant to be tacky or they're a lucky dip!

Original poster
RomulanBattleBagel · 20/12/2013 18:46

Well mine wasn't as bad as a vajazzle kit so I don't feel so bad now :o

OP posts:
Original poster
RomulanBattleBagel · 20/12/2013 18:47

I would LOVE to receive a watermelon! Xmas Blush

OP posts:
VoldemortsNipple · 20/12/2013 18:59

We have the most unsecret, secret Santa I've ever known. Names picked out of a hat and pinned on the notice board saying who is buying for who. Then everybody goes round asking people what they would like. Confused But in all fairness we spend £15 each so it's more like a proper present than secret Santa. I was happy this year. I received the new Robbie Williams CD and a big box of ferreo rochet (sp) I made my recipient a Christmas Eve hamper and she loved it Smile

StillNoFuckingEyeDeer · 20/12/2013 19:02

One year I got a pair of (very dusty) size 22-24 pyjamas that had obviously been dug out of the back of the airing cupboard or the bottom of the discount bin. I was a size 8.

BertieBowtiesAreCool · 20/12/2013 19:04

Has anyone ever done a Krabbelsack? That's what I experienced this year for the first time. Everyone buys a gift of similar value and they all go into a big sack, then everyone gets given a number (highest being the number of all gifts).

So person number 1 takes a gift, unwraps it, everybody admires it. Person number two, and all the subsequent numbers, then get the option to either steal a gift which has already been unwrapped, or choose a new one! Grin That was quite fun although it made me wish I'd been a bit more adventurous with mine, I bought soap Hmm The most popular item was a ceramic knife!

StillNoFuckingEyeDeer · 20/12/2013 19:13

Bertie that sounds fun, but what happens after someone steals your gift? Do you become the highest number in the line?

BertieBowtiesAreCool · 20/12/2013 19:37

No, you get a new one out of the sack but then you're stuck with it, unless somebody else steals it off you.

HaroldTheGoat · 20/12/2013 19:40

I got a fake plastic shit one year.

And an inflatable boyfriend when I was single.

What a hoot.

MinnieBar · 20/12/2013 19:47

I once got a colleague a fridge magnet which had 'The Girl Who Was Beautiful Inside' girl who was beautiful inside edward monkton like this - chosen because she'd just had the courage to leave an abusive relationship.

She took it to mean that she was unattractive. Oops.

Coconutty · 20/12/2013 19:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

peacefuleasyfeeling · 20/12/2013 19:49

Yay Bertie, we play this game too, usually about 20 members of staff, and it invariably dominates the whole do! It's fun because you're not buying for anyone in particular so you can just get the best present a tenner can buy and be pretty sure that one of your colleagues will end up really chuffed. And you can't help but to feel pleased if your present is the one that becomes the object of the collective desire and gets stolen time and again. And to answer somebody's question earlier: if the present you've ended up with gets stolen, you then have the option to either open a new present from the sack or to steal one from another player who's already opened one. If you take a new one from the sack, it's the end of that round and it becomes the turn of the person with the ticket with the next number to either open a new present or to steal an already opened one. If you decide to steal one, the person from whom you stole your present who is now empty-handed can decide whether to steal or open. And so it goes on until every person who has had a go because their number has been up has a gift in their hands. Then it's time to invite the next highest number to play. Each gift can only be stolen once in each round, so it does come to a natural close in each round as you can't get into ping-pong stealing. Strategically, it's best to have a high number as you stand more chance of being able to take your pick of a wider range of already opened presents, thus getting what you want, but a lower number means you're 'in' the game for longer and may end up unwrapping loads of gifts and experiencing the excitement of stealing and being stolen from. Ace game!

MinnieBar · 20/12/2013 19:51

Bollocks, link fail.

didn't get her a nail set but this is the image

BertieBowtiesAreCool · 20/12/2013 19:51

No Coconutty. But you're not allowed to refuse!

I think we played with slightly different rules, as the stolen-from person was not allowed to steal again, and there was definitely an item which kept going round and round the table.

headlesslambrini · 20/12/2013 19:56

we do silly santa gifts, maximum of £5 and related to Christmas in some way - cue lots of silly hats, glasses, scarves, santa suits etc. It's a absolute scream - I got a bag of reindeer poop aka chocolate sweets

BobCrotchstitch · 20/12/2013 21:06

I got a penis jigsaw one year. I don't take part anymore Xmas Hmm

kiwidreamer · 20/12/2013 22:41

I got a cheap wine glass with Goodnight Children Hello Wine painted on it... I have crystal wine glasses from Harrods --total and utter bargain but still make me feel vair fancy with my plonk-- and no room for cluttery type things... will be going straight to charity shop, would have loved a box of chocs at least it would have been yummy and then gone!