Compulsory Secret Santa???

[Mad Doug Biker]

* goes to Shaun's office to find Mad Doug Biker's present *

Oh... err.... thankyou, you are so kind!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

[QUOTE 2191578, member: 1314"]You're only getting hair bands and a bottle of cheap nail varnish so don't get too excited. Have you upset her recently?[/quote]

No, I was just a bit embarrassed at the generosity of it all, really, thanks again! Oh, and I'm sure Cindy will like getting her claws painted up for Christmas, and as for the hair bands, well..... I'm sure I can find a use for them somewhere, so thanks!

 

[Arch]

We're doing Secret Santa at work, and the rule is that we mustn't actually buy anything. Presents have to be found, made or stuff the giver doesn't want any more!

(We on the recycling team have the edge when it comes to finding stuff!)

 

[Arch]

[QUOTE 2191609, member: 1314"]I like that.[/quote]

Last year ( the first year it had been done) we set a rule that the present had to be naff, or particularly unsuitable for the person (and no more than a fiver). My recipient (sadly now deceased) was really into all sorts of eclectic music, so I found him a Westlife tape in a charity shop.

I received a pair of comedy mens underpants, and a teddy bear wearing a bikini.

 

[Night Train]

I was once involved in a secret Santa on a forum. The limit was £10 and so I made a hand crafted table lamp with £10 worth of timber and electrical fittings.
I got a grateful thank you from the recipient (which was nice), and an almighty public bollocking from the rest of the forum for not playing by the rules of buying some gift thing from some shop. Apparently it wasn't fair to 'add value' by making something really nice in my workshop.
Given that response, and some other factors,I decided that the forum wasn't worth my time anymore so left and came here instead.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I was once involved in a secret Santa on a forum. The limit was £10 and so I made a hand crafted table lamp with £10 worth of timber and electrical fittings.
I got a grateful thank you from the recipient (which was nice), and an almighty public bollocking from the rest of the forum for not playing by the rules of buying some gift thing from some shop. Apparently it wasn't fair to 'add value' by making something really nice in my workshop.
Given that response, and some other factors,I decided that the forum wasn't worth my time anymore so left and came here instead.

You did WHAT??!!

Seriously though, they sound like a bunch of tozzers on that forum.

 

[Night Train]

You did WHAT??!!

Seriously though, they sound like a bunch of tozzers on that forum.

I'm a cabinet maker and had the jigs set up to make the lamps anyway so I just made one. Didn't take long.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I'm a cabinet maker and had the jigs set up to make the lamps anyway so I just made one. Didn't take long.

I'm glad the recipient appreciated it even if nobody else did anyway! Actually, it sounds like you might have a business opportunity there!

 

[perplexed]

I'm not a fan of compulsory "fun".

Even less so when it involves parting with money for someone I don't like much anyway.

Some fool mooted the idea of a secret Santa thing at work a couple of years ago. She was lucky to get out of the building alive.

 

[Sandra6]

It's the principal of the thing that annoys me most. The being told what I must do.
If I'm told I have to bake for a school fair, I don't. If I'm asked if I can help, I do.
And I know £2.50 isn't a lot, but if my five school age children were all expected to do the same it would soon add up and become time consuming.
I'm more than a little bit bah humbug at this time of year incase you hadn't noticed.

 

[Robson3022]

I agree with you to be honest. However like others have said do it but make a complaint to the school. The school I work in it £2.50 would be difficult for some.

 

[Night Train]

It's the principal of the thing that annoys me most. The being told what I must do.
If I'm told I have to bake for a school fair, I don't. If I'm asked if I can help, I do.

That's it for me too.

Invited to join in, or contribute, is one thing. Being told to, and expected to, is quite another. The cost of the thing is only a secondary issue.

However, I guess you should also consider what your your daughter wants to do about it, as refusing could make her stand out from her peers and cause upset.

 

[Beebo]

I was once involved in a secret Santa on a forum. The limit was £10 and so I made a hand crafted table lamp with £10 worth of timber and electrical fittings.
I got a grateful thank you from the recipient (which was nice), and an almighty public bollocking from the rest of the forum for not playing by the rules of buying some gift thing from some shop. Apparently it wasn't fair to 'add value' by making something really nice in my workshop.
Given that response, and some other factors,I decided that the forum wasn't worth my time anymore so left and came here instead.

I hope I get Night Train in this years CycleChat Secret Santa, I'll be expecting something really good.

 

[Night Train]

I hope I get Night Train in this years CycleChat Secret Santa, I'll be expecting something really good.

Don't bank on it, I am rushed off my feet and have had to resort to buying stuff instead of making the stuff I wanted to make in the workshop.
It is as if someone in charge has heard that I am physically fit and active again and has piled on all the 'catch up' work.

 

[Sandra6]

My daughter doesn't want to buy the boy a present, he's a pain apparently -aren't all boys when you're ten?!
She's also not at all bothered about getting a present in return so I think opting out will be the thing to do.