Post of Christmas Past # 8 – The Office Secret Santa

Ah…the office Secret Santa. An annual festive get-together with your fellow coworkers. The people you spend a big portion of your daily life with. A second family, some would say. It’s a chance to enjoy a holiday break with that family, away from the weekly grind, and to take part in a little giving and receiving. I’ve been a part of a bunch of Secret Santas in my day. Most if not all of my former places of employment have practised the tradition and it’s no different at my current job. My law firm partakes as well. Each time, a fun experience. This year’s Secret Santa email dropped in my inbox last week. I picked my person to buy for yesterday. It was my first sign of Santa’s coming.

Now, the gift exchange is fun, yes. But it doesn’t come without some degree of difficulty. There is the initial name-picking process. What strategy do you use for the name pull? Do you feel around the bag mixing up the tiny pieces of paper? Or do you grab the very first one your fingers touch? If two names fall out, what then? There’s no elf to help by the way. When you do decide on the technique to use, then there is the question of how you know the person on that tiny slip of paper. Is this someone you know well? Kind of well? Maybe they are on your office buddy list. That would be a gift in itself if you ask me. The answers to the above queries are important factors in the purchasing of the present. The pressure is real.

Figuring out who you have to buy a gift for is one thing, but then there’s doing so under the $25 budget that’s been set. That too is not always easy. In 2023 that’s a pack of gum. I mean, you want to be able to get something for someone that they’ll like. They will use or wear. Something that will hold up with the rest of the gifts being presented before the gathering of your peers. Yes, and before you say it, I know it’s the thought that counts. But don’t lie to me and tell me you don’t get anxious as they unwrap your budgeted gesture of holiday kindness. Worried it will flop. Or you missed the mark because you misread someone’s taste. I’ll be honest, I sweat each and every time. Even when I know or have been reassured by another coworker that I don’t have to worry about what I got. The milliseconds as the nicely wrapped paper tears away and the beautifully tied ribbons snap off may as well be a prison sentence. It feels like an eternity waiting to find the success of your attempt to buy a special Christman gift for someone you know as far as the elevator most days.

The last paragraph was somewhat dramatic because, as mentioned, it is the thought that counts. Especially for the purpose of this jolly team meeting. The point of this is to have fun. I’m being funny although there is an element of truth to it. I’m sure you’d agree. I’m lucky because I know everyone at my work quite well. Some more, some less, but all in some safe gift-buying capacity. If you asked, I’m sure you’d hear me described as an office big brother, a buddy, a confidant, a good listener, a comic relief, and more importantly, someone anyone could come to. To count on at any given time. I wear those monikers proudly on my sleeve. Not going to lie, I consider myself to be liked around the office. I’m not just saying that to be full of myself. I’m humbled by their friendship, and I feel the same way toward them. Each one of my office relationships are relationships I have come to cherish very much. As I said, you spend so much of your life with these people, that it’s impossible not to develop a working bond. Plus, they usually anticipate some joke or pun associated with something I do anyway from the hours of nine to five, so why would a Christmas gift from me be any different? If you knew me in person, you would quickly learn how there has to be something that makes you smile and I will figure it out at some point.

As I put a pin in this first Christmas post of this year, I will say that in my experience, my Secret Santa success rate has been 100%. My gifts have turned out to be things that people have opened and loved. The pressure that I build each holiday season surrounding the gift decisions is unwarranted. It turns out fine. I guess it wouldn’t be Christmas if you didn’t get a little gift anxiety. Am I wrong? I will say that there is one thing that I appreciate from the whole office gift exchange challenge. And that’s how much extra you get to learn about someone. Peel away another layer toward a great relationship. Again, a gift in itself. There is probably no better way to get to know someone outside the realm of work than searching for the perfect present to get them. You go on these deep dives with their close work-mates to forensically study them for a couple of weeks in hopes of gaining precious intel on what makes them tick. What hobbies they might have. If they have kids, a dog…a cat. Maybe they like books, could a gift card be their jam? All important information that will bring you closer to the perfect Secret Santa gift and a lot closer to them.

Until…