Ditching Secret Santa is the best thing we’ve done
At work, my colleagues have decided on something truly amazing this year, we have severed Secret Santa. Hip hip hooray! Instead we have decided to replace it with a Festive Foodie list, which is a pretty simple process and from the start is proving to be more popular.
In the days leading up to Christmas we each bring in a festive snack, like mince pies, sweets or cakes. Home-baked or shop-bought, it matters not. Everything is welcome for a much-needed nibble.
So what is my personal beef with
Secret Santa and why do I think we should ditch this tradition?
It is believed to have been started by an American who had the idea of giving anonymous gifts and secretly gave away $100 bills to people in Kansas. Others say it is has Scandinavian origins where presents were given to strangers.
Some may see it as a cheerful chore and office bonding experience, but on a personal note I found the stress of choosing and buying a gift for a work colleague can be tenfold to buying for loved ones. Or are they thinking the same when they have pulled out your name?
In so many workplaces, but not mine, Secret Santa gifts can so often be one of only two things, unwanted items and jokes that are as stale as a used cracker.
I’m sure there are offices in and around Portsmouth where the dread of when someone has given a joke present that you have to open in front of everyone and have to display a cringeworthy smile and pretend to be absolutely delighted with a bounty of bogroll or something suggestive that makes you squirm with scarlet cheeks.
For those that quibble and say they are friends with all their office workers and are happy to partake in extra present procurement, you are missing the point.
If you have never stressed about Secret Santa, could it be that you just give the same or a similar gift every year?
It is a statistical inevitability that you will draw the name of someone you may work well with, but know nothing of their social life. Why put ourselves through the stress?
The ever-growing pile of gimmick presents is something every homeowner surely dreads. Let’s end the cycle.