Many offices love to have something holiday-themed to boost the spirits of their workers. Secret Santa is a great way to do this as it can be a lot of fun. However, office Secret Santa can also be something that has the opposite effect. Buying gifts for coworkers can be a very tricky thing. A Secret Santa gift may not go over well if you make some common mistakes.
Since you likely want to make sure that the experience is a positive one and people are happy you should know what some of the mistakes are that are often made. This way you can pull off a successful office Secret Santa this year. In this article, we will go over several tips to make sure it is something that everybody enjoys.
1 – Don’t get too personal
There is a fine line between getting something useful or delightful for a co-worker and getting too personal with them. For instance, getting pajamas is not a great idea. Even getting socks is a bit tricky even though they would normally make a great gift since everybody needs socks. Christmas socks, on the other hand, make a great office Secret Santa gift because they are festive and not as personal as getting some regular ones.
At the same time, an impersonal gift like a gift certificate is not ideal. This says that not a lot of thought went into the gift and you were just doing your duty. Look to get things that are useful and something that shows that there was some thought behind the gift.
2 – Stick to the budget
Going over the agreed-upon spending limit for the office Secret Santa gift is really poor form. It puts people in an awkward position when they spend less than you did. The spending limit is there for a reason and one reason is that it can be quite expensive for a lot of people to shop for their friends and loved ones during the holidays. Adding more pressure to an already expensive period is not going to go over well with your colleagues.
3 – Avoid gag gifts
What you may think is hilarious could be considered in bad taste by a coworker. Not everybody has the same sense of humor. This is why gag gifts should be avoided because they can come across in a variety of ways and not often the way that you’d imagined.
Not only that, but some people want a thoughtful gift that makes them feel appreciated. Being the butt of the joke will have the opposite effect.
4 – Give a gift you feel good about
Although the idea is that the gift giver will remain a secret, there is the possibility that your name will get out as the giver. This means that you should only give a gift that you are happy to put your name behind in case you are discovered.
Never give a gift that you would feel embarrassed about if you are found to be the one who gave it. You can avoid this by putting some thought behind it. We hope these tips help you next time that you are involved in an office Secret Santa gift exchange. Put these simple tips to practice and you are sure to have a successful office Secret Santa gift exchange.
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