Christmas time comes around... And you suddenly realize you have to buy so many gifts for so many people, basically emptying your wallet. From family, friends to coworkers... The latter especially can hurt if you aren't really up to exchanging presents with folks you don't know that well.
Luckily, not all workplaces make these kinds of gift exchanges mandatory - in many places, it's up to the employees themselves to decide whether they want to take part in it or not. Just like in today's story, where a woman signed up for a voluntary Secret Santa only to get a gift that seemingly was gifted by someone forced to participate.
More info: Reddit
Since not everyone likes to participate in gift exchanges at work, some workplaces make it only voluntary event
Image credits: oksix / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Just like the one this woman works in and she thought it would be fun to participate so she signed up
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
She gave a nice gift, according to the receiver's wish list, but when she opened hers, was left disappointed
Image credits: wavebreak media / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Someone simply gave her old deodorant and shampoo, that isn't being sold anymore
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman couldn't even use the products, since it didn't fit her condition, so she thought about leaving it at the work's front desk for anyone to take
Image credits: WideGuest433
Later, it turned out that the gifter was confused - she thought it was white elephant, that's why the gift was so silly, and so she replaced it with a better one
The OP has signed up for a voluntary Secret Santa at work. It had a $20 limit, and each participant had to fill out a sheet of their interest, so others would know what to buy. Going by this list, the author bought a 6-pack of her favorite soda and all 3 of her favorite snacks for the coworker she was “Secret-Santa-ing” for.
Then, she opened her gift… It was a bottle of shampoo and unscented deodorant. The latter one was a decent product, but the shampoo was so old that it was no longer in production or sold. So, it just seemed that the gifter simply gifted something that was sitting in her cabinet that she no longer wanted.
This stumped the woman – the game was voluntary, so if you sign up for it, maybe add a little work in buying the gift? What’s even worse, the OP can’t even use these products, since she has specific ones for her allergies and dandruff. That’s why she wondered – what if she left them at the front desk for anyone to take – would that make her a jerk?
Before she could do that, the gift situation slightly changed. The secret Santa came back with another gift – this time one with a little bit more effort. Turns out, this woman barely speaks English, and the whole thing was a misunderstanding – she thought she was gifting the white Elephant and not Secret Santa.
If these games are popular in the country where you’re from, you might be able to differentiate them. And if they aren’t, which seems to be the case for the OP’s gifter, the confusion is bound to happen.
Image credits: stefamerpik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
You see, with Secret Santa, people are giving each other rather normal gifts, that either come from wish lists or simply something kind of generic, like candles, blankets, teas… You get the gist. The point is that the gift itself is normal.
At the same time, with the white elephant, the gift is typically something with no practical use or something extravagant that becomes a burden for the receiver. So, possibly expired hygiene products seem like something that would fit for such a gift.
But since it wasn’t this game, but instead a Secret Santa one, it didn’t fit. In fact, the OP took it as an insult – why did she join the game if she didn’t want to be a part of it?
A lot of people don’t like workplace gift exchanges – as this survey shows 62% say that this “responsibility” fosters a sense of obligation that can negatively affect team dynamics. But in this specific workplace, it wasn’t mandatory, so you would expect to get a decent gift for a willing participant.
Luckily, the whole misunderstanding was solved, and the author ended up with a proper present in the end. Well, if something like that happens to her in the future, she’ll be able to look back for suggestions on how to act given by netizens, since they gave her a lot of options.
So, in the end the woman ended up with a proper gift and a bouquet of netizens' suggestions on what to do if something similar arises in the future
