Secret Santa

Wash it, make a gift bag out of it and put a bottle in it for next year.

Brilliant suzied !

How rude and insensitive of them.I would go home,feel upset and leave the group.

You couldn't do anything except behave in a dignified manner which you did. Perhaps wash the scarf and then decide whether you want it or whether it should go to a charity shop. Unfair of whoever gave it to make such little effort. Try and rapidly forget about it!

I actually wondered if someone had forgot to bring their SS and had taken their own scarf off and wrapped it with a bit of disguarded paper ?

That’s a bit OTT oldbatty

No need to leave WI because one member made no effort oldbatty! Talk about overeacting!!

I'd have told someone that somebody had wrapped up their own scarf " by mistake ". I'd definitely have opened up.

It is also possible one of your members might have early dementia but the rest of you are not aware of it?
I think you probably did the right thing - put it behind you (well behind!)

You're better than me, I would have binned it.

In the many years that I took part in work-place SS, I never received anything I liked. I pretended of course. But I couldn’t ever say anything even to friends, in case they had bought it.

Gillybob You were very generous with your Secret Santa gift.
Perhaps there should have been a suggested value for the present.
Sorry you were dismayed, and it’s always easy, for someone else, me, to be wise after the event.

It sounds like a nasty practical joke to me.
I’d have just left it there.

I'd be intrigued as to who had bought (?) it.

Love Suzied’s idea!

We do a secret Santa at a dining group I belong to, value of gift around £5. As there are men and women in the group we have to choose unisex things. All gifts are put in a sack and handed out randomly by the organiser, you accept what you are given unless it is the one you brought!

I was given a poorly wrapped selection of everyday toiletries, ( soap, shampoo, conditioner etc,) which although not pretty, were useful to me as I tend not to use fancy products anyway. I calculate that the items cost less than £3 but it was far better than what my friend sat next to me was given.

She got a white paper bag with about six pieces of unwrapped Turkish delight, obviously the remains of a larger bag judging by the crumpled state of the bag. To go with it were 2 bottles of toiletries that hotels provide, both of which were partially used! We both dissolved into laughter and she hid them in her handbag. Though really it was not funny, everyone knew they needed to bring a gift and i am sure they could all afford to spend £5.

We are going out with the same group next week so I wonder what we will get this year?

Suggest that the Secret Santa is replaced with individual donations to the local food bank,

bank.

We already support our local food bank as a group eazybee and the woman’s refuge . I also support the food bank as an individual . I’m sure that wasn’t meant to be sarcasm was it?

I have a Christmas meal every year with a group of long standing friends . We do a Secret Santa with a value of £5. I've had some unusual things and not always quite to my taste but I've had some lovely things too and we all take care to buy something nice.

Some strange behaviours going around Secret Santa's then. It's a few years since I was involved. Often I wondered why we had to go through this palava as it nearly always was a bit of a disappointment all round even though everyone played along with it. But then I am a bit barhumbug around christmas

Secret santa is always so awful that these days I am disappointed in my gift isn't comically bad

How many Christmases have you been at the WI ..I was wondering if it was an annual joke thing.somebody gets the booby prize every year.
This reminds me of a thing a friend a nd I had going some years ago. One year she got a gift from her stepmother who she did not get on with too well. Inside the gift was a crust set ,so old fashioned and an obvious charity shop purchase . Well I teased her about it for a few weeks and on my next birthday I got a very nicely wrapped gift from her and inside was this crust set. Made me laugh !! The following year was her 40birthday and they were spending it on a two week holiday abroad . I have her a birthday gift with strict instructions to treat it gently . She had her teenage daughter carry it until they reached the holiday destination . On her birthday they videoed her opening her gifts and the look on her face when she opened this cruet set was one of great shock. it was great fun but she left it at her holiday destination so the tricks stopped at her 40th.

I’ve been at the WI since it started only a few years ago Nanabilly so definitely not an annual joke, just a joke on me I think.

I do like ( and appreciate) jokes such as the horrible cruet set that was regifted though .

Anyway the scarf is now washed and in a charity bag awaiting collection .