We had what seemed, on the face of it, to be a good idea - a nerd gift exchange. We'd all grab something nerdy out of the closet - one of those games that you bought, thought was super cool, and never actually played.
Unfortunately, it devolved into a half an hour of quibbling over the rules by which the exchange would occur - ultimately resulting in a complicated unwrap-steal-resteal-swap process. I hate these sorts of gift-stealing games - inevitably I get screwed. And I mean it - it's magical. At the two company parties that I've been to, I ended up in one case with a CD of Italian pop songs sung by Fabio that someone bought at a gas-station and wrapped in tin-foil that still had sandwich residue on it - and at this year's shin-dig, with nothing. Because there were more employees than gifts, so if you got your name pulled early, someone else would take your gift and you'd end up empty-handed. Joy. (I was much mollified by the fact that everyone got an iPod shuffle, which is pretty much awesome.) True to form, last night there was exactly one gift on the table that was totally lame - and I had a completely awesome pirate lamp (!!!) stolen from me in exchange for the one thing on the table no one wanted. Ironically, had we just done it secret-santa style, I probably would have thought it was pretty cool.
The problem with this format is - if you just exchange gifts secret-santa style everyone gets a present, and you get what you get and you just sit there and appreciate. But when you do the gift-stealing thing, you look around at what everyone else got, and instead of just appreciating what a thoughtful gift it was - you end up wanting it for yourself. And then if, like me, you are super-triple-jesus--hates-me-christmas-c
I did, however, get one decent laugh - I got everyone in the Monday night nerd group a gift card for Barnes and Noble - on nice pirate-cards, too. I put 'em all in gift boxes, but didn't mark any of them with names or amounts. I made a couple of obscure marks on the outsides of the boxes, and told everyone that the cards ranged in value from $5 to $50 - and the marks were a clue as to the actual value. Of course, the marks didn't mean anything, and they were all worth $10 anyway - but it amused me to see a few people peering very intently trying to observe the differences. Maybe that makes me a bad person? Probably - when it comes to Christmas, I can not win. It is known.
Unfortunately, it devolved into a half an hour of quibbling over the rules by which the exchange would occur - ultimately resulting in a complicated unwrap-steal-resteal-swap process. I hate these sorts of gift-stealing games - inevitably I get screwed. And I mean it - it's magical. At the two company parties that I've been to, I ended up in one case with a CD of Italian pop songs sung by Fabio that someone bought at a gas-station and wrapped in tin-foil that still had sandwich residue on it - and at this year's shin-dig, with nothing. Because there were more employees than gifts, so if you got your name pulled early, someone else would take your gift and you'd end up empty-handed. Joy. (I was much mollified by the fact that everyone got an iPod shuffle, which is pretty much awesome.) True to form, last night there was exactly one gift on the table that was totally lame - and I had a completely awesome pirate lamp (!!!) stolen from me in exchange for the one thing on the table no one wanted. Ironically, had we just done it secret-santa style, I probably would have thought it was pretty cool.
The problem with this format is - if you just exchange gifts secret-santa style everyone gets a present, and you get what you get and you just sit there and appreciate. But when you do the gift-stealing thing, you look around at what everyone else got, and instead of just appreciating what a thoughtful gift it was - you end up wanting it for yourself. And then if, like me, you are super-triple-jesus--hates-me-christmas-c
I did, however, get one decent laugh - I got everyone in the Monday night nerd group a gift card for Barnes and Noble - on nice pirate-cards, too. I put 'em all in gift boxes, but didn't mark any of them with names or amounts. I made a couple of obscure marks on the outsides of the boxes, and told everyone that the cards ranged in value from $5 to $50 - and the marks were a clue as to the actual value. Of course, the marks didn't mean anything, and they were all worth $10 anyway - but it amused me to see a few people peering very intently trying to observe the differences. Maybe that makes me a bad person? Probably - when it comes to Christmas, I can not win. It is known.
- Current Mood:
aggravated
Profile
aghrivaine- Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash: Pick Two
- My Yelp Reviews.
Comments
That said, I always get screwed over in gift exchanges, too.
It's a good thing they are cute, isn't it?
He better buy me a condo on Maui when he is pitching for the Dodgers!
Happy Kwanzaa!
Honey, I know it sucks being the only kid with out a Christmas gift. I get screwed at these things too. I think it is wrong to do these types of games if there isn't enough gifts to go around; someone is going to feel left out. And I think it is wrong to make it like a competition or who can screw over whom. Even when you do get something more often than not, it is something cheaper than what you bought for someone else. Like when you give a gold necklace and get back a Dollar Store mug.
But remember the true spirit of Christmas isn't about getting gifts, it is about love. We express that through giving gifts and really should not expect anything in return, even though it is nice if we do get something. It should be the act of giving that makes us happy.
Now with that said, your Christmas present is going to be a little late.
:)
Hugs and Kisses!
Every other day of the y ear, this is true for me. I help out friends where I can, do birthdays, all that stuff - and it's not about getting something back, it's just about... being who I am.
But Christmas Day - what I do'nt like about it is that it's not about GIVING, it's about EXCHANGING. There's a built in expectation that you're getting something back- which is a built in way to be disappointed. I don't like it.
My friends and I play the variant where players can trade as much as they want, except they can't hold the same gift more than once in a round.
i.e.
Player A can either open a present or take an already unwrapped present from anyone.
If Player A opens a present, turn passes to next player.
If Player A takes Player B's present, B can open a present, or take anyone else's present (C), except the present just stolen from them.
Player C can now take any present, including A's present, except the present just taken from them.
New round begins when a new present is opened.
It goes on for a while, but it's a lot of fun. It also means good presents are hot potatoes, snatched over and over in a round.