Whether it is with our extended family, our friends, or our coworkers, doing a Secret Santa gift exchange can be a lot of fun. Usually there is a cap on the spending limit, so it is often a relatively low-cost way to spread holiday cheer within a larger group of people. Unless, of course, our secret Santa is secretly a REALLY bad gift giver. In which case, Secret Santa can be a total drag. What are we supposed to do with some of these terrible gifts?
More from CafeMom: Incredibly Easy Oreo Bark Recipe Will Get Everyone in the Holiday Spirit
I know that we are always supposed to focus on the fact that it's "the thought that counts" when if comes to gifts, but I guarantee that some of these stories will make us wonder what on earth Santa was thinking! Listen, friends, anything that was a "free gift with purchase" should not be re-gifted to me. That's all I'm saying. So take back all the stolen office supplies, goldfish, and Christmas tree ornaments, because we're here to let it be known that these are not good Secret Santa gifts. Trust us on this one.
More from CafeMom: These Hilarious Hanukkah Songs Will Perk Up a Holiday Playlist
From gifts that are deadly to presents that are just plain weird, read on for some of the biggest gift-exchange fails we've ever heard. Secret Santa, do better next year. Okay?
Image ©iStock.com/opolja
Beautiful, I Guess
"Our office did a non-religious 'Winter Greetings' party including a gift exchange. This made sense because our office is really diverse and several staff members, including me, aren't Christian and don't celebrate Christmas. So, you can image my delight at getting a beautiful box of glittery Christmas tree decorations. Hello? Really openly Jewish over here!" — Simone A., Brooklyn, New York
No Pets Allowed!
"In my office, we always do a Secret Santa exchange on Christmas Eve, and then the office closes until the new year. My first year there, my person gave me a live goldfish in a not very small bowl. Now, getting a pet is bad enough — I was only 22 and barely keeping myself alive! — but I also rode my bike to work. So I had to figure out how to get this thing home that day or else it would have died over the break. I ended up having to put it in a plastic sandwich bag in my backpack and hope to hell it didn't leak on my six-mile ride home." — Diana W., Tucson, Arizona
Nothing at All
"I've gotten NOTHING. Three times! I felt like Charlie Brown on Halloween with his bag of rocks but in front of my coworkers. You can't even say 'It's the thought that counts!' when the person thought of NOTHING, not even a note." — Caissie S., New York, New York
Drink Up!
"Last year I got a very large bottle of VERY cheap vodka from my weirdo cousin. It would have been bad enough, but I was also seven months pregnant at the time." — Cathy R., Des Moines, Iowa
Freebie
"I once got a faux crystal clock that had clearly been some kind of free gift with purchase. Gee, thanks." — Leandra N, Atlanta, Georgia
More from The Stir: Woman's Secret Santa Turns Out to Be Richest Man in the World
Happy Birthday, Jesus
"I got a plush Jesus doll. That sang. Loudly. 'Jesus Loves You,' of course. I mocked it endlessly, which was probably not the nicest thing I could do." –Michelle B., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Good Luck With That
"Our gift exchange had a $20 limit, so I was excited at first when I saw that I got a $50 gift card. And then I saw that it was to a chain of stores that went out of business two years ago. Awesome. A gift card that is totally unspendable. I feel the holiday spirit!" — Veronica G., Saint Paul, Minnesota
Death by Gift
"My well-meaning but clueless coworker gave me a fancy set of nuts and a personalized nutcracker. I'm sure she spent good money on them, but I am deathly allergic to nuts. As it says on the sign on my desk AND on my secret Santa info sheet she was given." — Lindsay W., Ames, Iowa
More from The Stir: The 2015 Holiday Gift Guide: 11 Delicious Picks for Foodies (PHOTOS)
Re-Gifter, Busted
"My boss drew my name in our office exchange and gave me a messily wrapped hat and mittens set that appeared to be handmade. I noticed that one of my coworkers seemed annoyed and later I learned that she had given him that gift last year for Christmas, in the exact wrapping paper. He must have opened it and then just taped it back up. The worst thing is that it was hand-knit and it had his initials on the hat, so I never wore it." — Name withheld
So Personal
"When I was a grad student in the deep south, my department did a holiday exchange. One of the nice old ladies who ran the business office got me and gave me a Bible. Personalized with my name on it and everything. I'm Jewish, so … awkward." — Gayle H., Denton, Texas
Cheapskate Strikes Again
"Dan is NOTORIOUS in our department for being ultra cheap. I honestly don't know why he chooses to participate in Secret Santa because he HATES to spend money. Last year he got me and gave me a plastic bucket (like a kid's sand bucket) filled with office supplies like pens, highlighters, and tape. All of it was from our office supply closet, the one I also have access to. Gee, thanks." — Kara M., Holland, Michigan
Extra Extra Intimate
"One year I was working overseas in South Korea and decided to try to bring a little Western tradition to our office, so I set up a Secret Santa exchange. Everyone seemed into it and it was a fun afternoon, until I opened my gift. Which was underwear. From my boss. Who told everyone that it was maternity underwear because I have 'big bottom for Korean sizes.' I was a mortified size 16 that day." — Rebecca S., Toronto, Ontario
