THE trailing days of December mean a time for holidays, tying up of loose ends, and... the inevitable office Secret Santa.
Most workplaces would set a reasonable budget for the tradition. Could one find a useful and charming gift for less than say, RM20? Experience has shown that at times, this may not be the case.
Secret Santa can be traced back to the American philanthropist Larry Dean Stewart. When he was a broke fresh graduate in the 1960s, he was so hungry he ordered a sandwich in a cafe and pretended he'd lost money. When the cafe owner saw through his ruse, he gave Stewart the sandwich for free.
Stewart went on to become a millionaire in the telecommunications industry, but he never forgot his humble beginnings. He was said to have roamed the streets in December handing out money anonymously. This kickstarted the Secret Santa tradition that many now enjoy across the world.
In no particular order, here’s a list of the worst Secret Santa presents that you can surprise your colleagues with:
1. An 'interactive' drinkware of scantily dressed women. Remember friends, what you find funny may not translate very well on your unsuspecting colleague.
My worst Secret Santa gift was a set of tumblers with scantily-clad women on them. When you filled them with an icy drink, the ladies' clothes disappeared.
— StevenB (@stevenbblue) December 15, 2021
The older woman who gave them to me, went out of her way to hunt them down, laughed like crazy...why me?
2. Coal. Just, no.
What’s the worst secret Santa gift you have ever received?
— Dr Michelle Perryman-Fox ? (@Symbolic_Life) December 23, 2020
I got coal - like seriously- coal ???
3. Asymptomatic family member. In the time of Covid, it’s best we get ourselves tested regularly in order to not be a carrier.
An asymptomatic family member is the worst Secret Santa gift you could give
— fun e-boy ? (@marcuscardona) December 28, 2020
4. Nothing. That’s right... while it may happen to the best of us, proper planning will help you avoid this mishap.
My worst secret Santa gift was when the person forgot to give me gifts at all ??♀️
— Maddie Sedai ? (@hazelmaddie) December 14, 2021
His wife found out and was horrified and got me some lovely gifts later, but it was very awkward
5. Age-specific, medicated ointments. Steer clear of playing pharmacist and diagnosing your receiver’s undetected ailments.
@mariellaf1 @TimesRadio my worst ever secret Santa gift was varicose vein cream. I was 26. Oh.
— Abracadabra Girl (@cakesrmagic) December 8, 2021
6. A toilet brush. While useful, it may not particularly generate feelings of merriment.
This is not secret santa, but is the worst christmas gift ever. A brush for cleaning the toilet. From my parents. And it was even wrapped and had a bow
— ?Florero Yordan? (@FloreroYordan) December 14, 2021
7. COD. Imagine – a gift being sent using the cash on delivery method and the gift recipient having to foot the bill. Have we as a society stooped so low?
Omg i still remember the mishaps from last year's secret santa event
— I Nana You ?? (@NanasCzenniee) December 13, 2021
The worst one was: a gift being delivered with 'cash on delivery' payment method
Most of the other ones were just a mention of the secret Santa's name / address on the packaging
Hohoho
8. A gift that does not serve any purpose to its recipient. This bears repeating – no combs for the bald, no winter scarves for tropical climes – you get the idea.
Throwback to the worst secret Santa gift I ever got. pic.twitter.com/pxUefuDuZY
— Willem Dafoe stan account. (@ThatPacmanDude) December 9, 2021
9. A calculator… for the head of finance. While this may seem like a calculated risk, he or she might not appreciate the sentiment.
Not mine but the worst I've seen was about ten years ago. The company I worked for was in dire straights financially with redundancies looming. At our Christmas meal the secret Santa gifts were given out. Someone got our head of finance a calculator. Savage
— Wired with BPD (@BpdKwid) December 15, 2021
10. Potatoes. Yes, spuds may make for hearty meals, but it sure takes guts to gift someone a full sack.
Tbt to getting potatoes for secret Santa, the worst gift https://t.co/RkpRcBWs47
— ✨mable✨ (@itznoneofurbiz) December 21, 2020
Good, cheap gifts exist. It may take some research – as simple as asking your colleagues what they would like – and time. Secret Santa can be a fun way to oil the social wheels of the office during the festive season.
Getting something useful is also doing be your part for Mother Nature. A less-thought out item may not be sustainable and end up in landfills. – The Vibes, December 25, 2021
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