Author |
Message |
Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 12:39 pm
Ever been stuck the day before the office gift exchange with NO IDEA what to buy? We're doing the secret Santa thing where we draw numbers. Number One gets to choose any gift. Number Two gets either a new gift or whatever Number One got. Repeat. So the gift has to be fairly generic. $20 max. My office is mostly guys, we're all young (under 35, well, under 30, mostly), and we work in multimedia (web design, Flash applications, corporate roadshows, that sort of thing), so there's a huge geek factor there. I'm starting to lean towards a bottle of wine, just out of desperation 'cause I can't come up with anything original. Any ideas? I'd like to do something new, kinda different, not the standard gift card, etc. Any ideas greatly appreciated!!
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 12:44 pm
Box of really good candy?
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Cndeariso
Member
06-28-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 12:47 pm
i have 25 employees that i buy for each year from age 29 - 71. this year i got them are animal marionettes. they have had the best time acting out little plays. not saying it would work for you - just an idea. they were 2 for $10 at Walgreens. there are any number of cell phone accessories for under $20 you could get.
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 12:51 pm
HOw about a gift card from a book store? Then they can buy the latest book on C++ or a romance novel or anything in between. 
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Cndeariso
Member
06-28-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 12:53 pm
my husband suggested a gift card to play World of Warcraft online. i think he said they were at Best Buy. he is a computer geek and all the folks in his office play.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 12:55 pm
Gift card.
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Schoolmarm
Member
02-18-2001
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 1:03 pm
Gift certificate for a cool restaurant or coffee shop. $20 of lottery tickets. Some kind of board or strategy game.....with the "geek" factor, that might be a hit. Love the idea of a bottle of wine or really good chocolate. I just got a box of Godiva chocolate from a student and it's yummy. "Sees" chocolate (from California) is excellent. I also really like Lindt chocolate (Thanks to Lumbele for suggesting it when I needed a hostess gift in Germany). 2006 calendar Office organizers and supplies? Tickets to an upcoming event...sporting or cultural. Tickets to a local museum or gallery? My Mom once got my Dad $20 worth of car wash tokens. He didn't know how to use them, but after he figured it out, he thought that it was really cool. Subscription to Games magazine or another puzzle mag? Stack of CD discs or DVD-RWs? BBQ tools? Black Scarf? Kitchen gadgets. Hat or shirt from local sports team. Box of Christmas ornaments? Photo album or picture frames. A CD or DVD. Book about the local region? Is there a "Multi-media for Dummies" book? That would be a scream!! <Marm must REALLY get back to grading! Thanks for the diversion!>
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Beachcomber
Member
08-26-2003
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 1:04 pm
My husband took lottery tickets and they were the hit of the mostly male office party.
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Darrellh
Member
07-21-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 1:05 pm
Gift card to CompUSA, or actually, some home cooking, since most probably eat out a lot.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 1:06 pm
There's no CompUSA up here, but ... a gift certificate to Yopo, where all the geeks in our hood (seem to) eat lunch!!! or walk down to Ganache Patisserie (Homer between Davie and Drake) for some DELICIOUS bagged fresh sugar candy -- I'm addicted to the stuff.
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Ddr
Member
08-19-2001
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 1:10 pm
I always buy something I want so that I can always steal it in the event there is nothing there that interests me, lol.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 1:16 pm
Oh, I think a special calendar is a great gift!
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 2:16 pm
You guys are amazing! Schoolmarm -- thanks for that list! Yankee, Yopo is a pretty good idea, isn't it?? I'd like to not do the gift card thing if I don't have to.... being in Yaletown I can guarantee there'll be more than a couple Starbucks cards being passed around. I saw when I was out at Metrotown in Spencer's Gifts a little "office voodoo kit". it comes with the litte doll and a few accessories to "personalize" to your taste. Then some pins, etc and instrutions on how to use it. A total gag gift... but something that would be fun. I'll keep y'all posted and let you know how I did. thanks so much!!
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Halfunit
Moderator
09-02-2001
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 2:35 pm
Karen, we have a Secret Santa thing at work and I had to find a generic gift myself. Since we all work in an office, I settled for something to make work a bit more comfortable, lol. The Sqush back pillow. I included the batteries with mine.

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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 3:25 pm
First of all, that's not a secret Santa. Secret Santa is when you draw names, don't tell who you got, buy a prezzie, and give it anonymously to the person. The "game" you describe is a rip off, and I hate it. Unless you do the white elephant one, where EVERYONE brings a joke gift (or an unwanted regifted gift). OK, that said... Do you have any stores near you that sell retro stuff? Since you work with geeks, things like Rubik's cubes or other mind bending puzzles are great. So are silly laser pointers. GI Joe lunch boxes. Boxing Nun puppets. (OK, that last was a joke!) Unless they all drink wine, I'd do a gift cert from Amazon.com. Guaranteed geeks will find something they like there! 
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 3:41 pm
I agree Costa, I hate that game unless it is with totally goofy gifts. It is a rip-off, as you put it. I think gift cards totally rock for a situation as an office gift exchange. Especially if you don't know who is going to end up with your present and/or you don't know the person very well.
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Cher
Member
08-18-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 4:44 pm
Well this year we are not doing an office gift exchange, instead we took three gift tags off the tree at the mall for others. We all brought in gifts and then took $30 out of the employee fund for gift cards for each of them to go with all the gifts. It was so much fun, and we have all come to realize we don't need anything. Just wanted to share what we are doing!!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 4:47 pm
Wow Cher! I love that idea! I just started working at McAfee and it looks like they don't do anything like Secret Santas or other gift exchanges. Last year (my miserable holiday!) we didn't do anything at all. The company prez is Jewish and no one even DARED to ask about Secret Santas! I am so glad I'm not there any more! 
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Jagger
Member
08-07-2002
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 5:02 pm
i for one don't really care for getting gift cards. To me they are too impersonal, but that's just me. Most people that I give gifts to want gift cards so I still end up having to buy them. At work we don't do the gift exchange, we have totes for toys for tots and the mitten tree, plus they go and get names of a few different families to buy stuff for. They take up a collection, ask for volunteers to go out and buy the stuff, and than have a big wrapping party with a pot luck pig out.
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Halfunit
Moderator
09-02-2001
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 5:11 pm
I think Karen was trying to avoid gift certificates and cards. Costa and Julie, I don't understand how a Secret Santa is a ripoff...?? Where I work, we do it over the course of three weeks. We draw names and one week we give a $5 dollar gift. The next week we give a $5 dollar gift, and the last week we leave our gifts in the lobby and all gather at the same time, each person picking up their $20 gift and guessing who was their "Santa". Then we all come clean. Since I purchased my gifts before we drew names, I had to go with gifts that were unisex - catch all - type gifts. Everyone at work is always happy playing this game.
ETA: Costa and Julie, nevermind! I just realized you were addressing Karen and not replying to me. 
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 5:42 pm
Half, it's the game where the first person opens a gift. Then the second person can choose to open a gift or steal the first person's. The third person can open a gift or steal one of the other two. And so on... What you described above is what I consider Secret Santa!
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 6:07 pm
Costa, we call that game the Elephant gift game
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Cndeariso
Member
06-28-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 6:19 pm
it has many names though most associate secret santa with what costacat described. the reason why the white elephant game is considered a rip-off by some as most folks don't stick to the rules and you end up with majorly dorky gifts and really cool ones. the really cool ones are the only ones that end up being stolen thus if you start out or end up with a dorky gift you are stuck with it. for it to truly work it either has to be all dorky gifts or all cool gifts.
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Jagger
Member
08-07-2002
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 6:21 pm
Some suggestions I came up with, something like a desk fountain.
or an office porfolio
or maybe a pen/radio set
or some type of a swinging sculpture or clock. Something that everytime they look at it they remember who gave it to them.
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Cndeariso
Member
06-28-2004
| Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 6:22 pm
what we do at our office is an ornament exchange. everyone brings a wrapped ornament worth $10. then we draw numbers or this year words from a poem to see who picked first. there is no swapping or stealing. since you don't know who is going to get your ornament everyone brings really nice ones.
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