Question #1
Have you ever been or had a Secret Santa? What was the coolest gift you gave/received? What was the lamest? If you haven’t ever had a Secret Santa, what gift would you most like to get from a Secret Santa? (Come on. Tell all!)
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
December 15th, 2006 at 6:48 pm
love it. i got clothes and books and they wer from friends and that was the thought that counts.
December 15th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Never had a Secret Santa or been one. I guess what I’d really love from a Secret Santa would be more books cause you can never have enough books. Oh, and it would be nice if my Secret Santa could grant me some uninterrupted time to actually read some of the books.
December 15th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
I guess this really isn’t the same as a Secret Santa, but my 3 sisters and our families play “elves” every year. We used to do the 12 days of Christmas for our Grandparents until they both passed away 5 years ago. Now we do our parents. It’s been alot of fun and we always like to laugh and talk about it after…who tripped over the light cords, who forgot to ring the doorbell and the cats ate the treat, who fell in a snow drift running away, who set of the motion detector lights, etc. Of course my Grandparents and Parents have always known it’s us, but it’s still been fun and our children have loved it. We each take 3 different nights and have to leave a treat with a verse. One year when we were all together for the last night, we had friends of our oldest son ring the doorbell and leave the treat ~ my parents really did wonder that year since we were all present at the time.
December 16th, 2006 at 3:10 am
This is my second year in a secret santa exchange, we don’t have something like this here in Germany. Last year I got two wonderful books.
December 16th, 2006 at 4:39 am
I’m with y’all. I think books are one of the nicest gifts. Or, hey, a bookstore giftcard.
I’m also all about jewlery — but it doesn’t have to be expensive. I just like jewelry. That’d be nice. I also love to go to the movies. I could get excited about movie passes.
Christy, I LOVE the elves. That’s an awesome idea. And it sounds like you all really get into it. How cool. Sounds as if you have a great family tradition that’ll be passed on.
December 16th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Hey Jennifer! Great column.
I have given and received my share of SS gifts. The most memorable was this one.
I love Secret Santa, because I like surprising people. And I have to admit I love surprises. too.
The first Christmas after my mom and dad passed away (we lost them within 13 months of one another) I was really bummed out. I just could not get into the spirit at all, no matter how hard I tried. Then the week before Christmas a little package showed up on my desk at work with a note that said, I hope this makes you smile again. It was the cutest snowman pin. This happened every day for a week. with some small Christmas related token. All of my friends swore they were clueless. Then on Friday, there was a Bath and Body Works gift basket with a card revealing who the Secret Santa was. It was the call center customer service team I worked with! My best friend got them together and everyone contributed to the gifts.
It was a turning point for me and while I still can get a little melancholy around this time, I only have to think about my Secret Santas to cheer myself right up!
Now if you want to really cheer me up, I’d love an Ipod!!
December 16th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
I would love a Barnes & Noble gift card or chocolate, two very important things.
December 16th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
One year I had a secret Santa, so to speak. Mom hands me this Christmas gift and inside was a white dresser runner with purple embroidered flowers. One of the church ladies had given it to Mom to pass onto me. I was thrilled; and purple is my favorite color. Mom did tell me who it was after I couldn’t guess.
December 16th, 2006 at 11:47 pm
I have been a Secret Santa and have been the recipient of a SS. I have participated last year and this year in book groups - and they have always been generous, lots of books, chocolate (also important) - LOL, plus note paper, candles and other goodies.
The lamest SS gift I recd was many years ago at work - it was from the head honcho and it was a toilet seat cover with a note telling me I had it “soft”.
December 18th, 2006 at 8:57 am
I had my little 4 year old Granddaughter stay with me over the weekend and I let her go with me to deliver one of our Secret Elf gifts Friday night to my parents house. Saturday my Mom had her come over for cookies and to play games for awhile. When she came back to my house she said: “I asked Grandma Nae if she found the present we left for her.” lol
December 18th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
I participate every year at work. Nothing strikes me either way as very bad or very good.
December 19th, 2006 at 5:17 am
WHEN I WORKED AS A NURSE WE HAD A SECRET SANTA EXCHANGE EVERY CHRISTMAS…THE BEST GIFTS: A CHRISTMAS CD, AND A HANDMADE HAT AND MITTEN SET TO MATCH MY COAT…THE WORST GIFTS: A LITTLE,RED TEAPOT…I DON’T DRINK TEA AND IT WAS SOOOOO UGLY!! I ALSO GOT A PAIR OF CLIP ON ??!! CHRISTMAS EARRINGS…BELLS WHICH WERE …. SOOOOO UGLY!!
I LIKED TO GIVE PRETTY CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS AND NICE STATIONARY ITEMS.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Angie T, that’s a great story! Funny how those little things end up meaning so very much.
Maureen, those gift cards to book stores are one of my favorites as well.
RobynL, that runner sounds lovely!
Pat L, you’re right–the toilet seat cover is not only lame, it was in poor taste. Sheesh.
Christy, out of the mouths of babes, eh?
Karen T, surely someone will get you a memorable gift this year. Or so one can hope.
Laurie G, I have a pair of cute bell earrings. Unfortunately, they ring too much and I can’t wear them.
December 23rd, 2006 at 9:03 am
Last year I had an awesome Secret Santa for one gift exchange. You were supposed to spend about $40 on your person and she had to have spent almost double that. Talk about generous. She gave really nice things. Last year from another exchange I particiapated in that was for $15.00 I also got the lamest gift ever. I got the ugliest frog picture frame I had ever seen and a set of ugly fish shaped cheese spreaders. Of course, I gave good gifts to my people. I always try to spend a little over the limit and get really tasteful gifts.
December 23rd, 2006 at 10:16 pm
We do secret santa’s at work every year for our gift exchanges. Everyone at work knows I’, a big Michigan Wolverine fan, so the person that had me got me a Wolverine ornament for my tree. I put ot on my tree every year.
December 24th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Secret Santa’s are so much fun but the last time I had friends/co-workers have one was when I was in grade school. And back then, it became more about who the Secret Santa was than what the gift was. However, there were plenty of comparisons as to what each of us received. I have learned to be a price the gift that you receive…so I don’t spend $20 and then receive a candy bar. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the gift, but there should be some thought into it!!
December 31st, 2006 at 7:52 pm
This is not a Secret Santa, but at the same time, it sorta is…These past couple of years with me not working, we changed how we did gifts for Christmas with the four of us here. Its one gift to each other and just has to be something that will mean something to them. So what a surprise that I got for Christmas from my 17 year old son, yep, son. He gave me Cara Summers recent Blaze from the gothic theme…Its A Dark and Sexy Night…TELL ME YOUR SECRETS. I am so proud of him! First being a teenager and boy, he said he looked at the books on the shelf and remembered seeing that “Blaze” on some I read, so he grabbed that one cuz he knew I had some with cowboys on them! And it was absoultely the most perfect gift I have ever gotten from him because it was from knowing his mom! He’s a huge reader himself (Thrillers and all). I’ve read Fantasy books and he would ask about them, and share what he reads. So I’ll remember this always. Too its a Blaze book!!!