It’s officially December which means it’s simultanously time for finals (booooo!!!) and holiday parties and traditions (yayyyyyy!!!). In your family, circle of friends, place of work or even club/organization, gift giving games and traditions might take place. Secret Santa is a common practice where a set group of people decide to pick names out of a hat and agree to purchase a gift for the person they selected. While this is usually lots of fun, there are certain rules that I believe should be followed.
1. Set a price range
Feathers can be ruffled if one person gives away an ipod and then recieves a 5 lb tub of red vines “because remember that one time you said you loved red vines?” Make sure the group agrees upon a minimun and a maximum amount of money they are willing to spend on a gift and make sure you stick to it. Secret Santa isn’t the time to be cheap or extravagant because you could end up making people feel uncomfortable. Even if you get a close friend and want to be generous, get them a secret santa gift within the price range, and then give them the more expensive gift later.
2. Put some thought into it
Secret Santa isn’t the time to put a $20 bill in a white envelope. If you are close with the person you got, actaully take the time to think about something they would want, need or appreciate. If you don’t know the person very well, ask their friends or people with similar interests for suggestions. You may have nothing in common with the person you have to purchase a gift for but that doens’t mean their roommate or significant other won’t be able to point you in the right direction. The recipient will be happy with a gift they actually like and you will be happy you didn’t waste your money on something they will dislike.
3. Wrap your gift
It doens’t have to be wrapped to perfection, but your present should at least be placed in a gift bag. You can even wrap it up in newspaper for a DIY look but there is something sort of dissappointing about getting a gift in a wrinkled plastic grocery bag. Opening presents is fun and it will make your recipient feel special if they have something nice-looking to open. Nothing ruins a surprise like seeing the store logo on the outside of the bag.
4. Make sure the gift gets to its recipient
If for some reason you aren’t able to make the gift exhange, try your very hardest to make sure your gift makes it to the event. If you aren’t able to send the present along with someone attending the exhange, ask for the recipents address and mail it to them. Under no circumstances are you to opt out of the gift-giving process. Even if it was only a $10 present, it will make the person feel really jipped if they bought a gift and didn’t get one.
5. No trading
Don’t suddenly turn this into a game of White Elephant. We all remember that episode of The Office don’t we? It all worked out ok but jeez, it was stressful. If you get a gift you aren’t happy with, suck it up. Don’t ask someone if they want to exchange gifts with you and ask for your gift back, even in a joking way. If you see someone else with something you love, don’t make endless comments about how you wish that had been your present. You don’t want to make someone feel bad because they flopped with your present, especially if they put some effort into it.
6. Be gracious
Maybe someone gave you a boring Strabucks giftcard and you hate coffee, maybe someone gave you an item of clothing that is too small or too large, maybe someone gave you a t-shirt with an inapporpriate message on it. Whatever it is, say thank you and move on. Someone else’s laziness or rude sense of humor isn’t worth picking a fight over. If you are deeply offended, you could bring it up with the gift giver in private at a later time, but there is no need to ruin everyone else’s fun while they are exchanging present.