Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Freddie Bennett

'I'm forcing my colleague to do Secret Santa - she hates the idea but it's festive fun'

A woman has decided to include a colleague in a Secret Santa gift exchange, despite the co-worker insisting she will not be participating.

In last year's Secret Santa Christmas exchange, the colleague did not have a cheery time of it with one of her gifts being late and the other being under budget so decided to sit it out this year - but another employee was having none of that.

Taking to Reddit, the woman explained that she runs her office's Secret Santa and opted to put her colleague's name in the generator despite her pleas not to be involved this year.

She has attempted to keep the woman involved without anybody knowing (stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In the post, the woman, who remained anonymous, explained: "This year in October we selected the names for Secret Santa.

"This is when she told everyone about her experience and how terrible it was, mentioning it multiple times to different people and saying that she does not want to be involved this year."

She went onto explain that in last year's gift exchange, her colleague's experience was not up to par as she received one of her gifts late from her Secret Santa and her final gift was well under budget which dampened her view of the whole experience.

However, despite this, the woman decided to take matters into her own hands.

"In charge, I still put her name in the generator," she explained.

"Me and one of the bosses were hoping to persuade her as we made a rule in the generator that her and her past Santa would not get each other. It did not work.

"Instead I asked her to show me who she got, and decided to get the gifts for both her and my original person, without telling her Santa that she was not participating. This was done so that she could still receive a gift, without having to put in the effort."

But late in November when the plan was already in motion, her colleague mentioned that not only does she not want to be involved this year but if she receives a gift then she will just leave it at work.

The woman stated: "There is no way that she would not receive a gift. Either I would have three secret Santas, or the bosses would still get her a gift.

"My thoughts have even gone as far as thinking she is selfish because she knows how small work is and how it will impact the holiday season."

In response, many have criticised the post's author and say the colleague should not be forced into the fun.

One person wrote: "Enforced fun is not fun. If she doesn't want to take part you should have left her out."

While another stated: "I think you could come up with an easier way of celebrating the holidays at work. I've never seen such a complex work event."

Do you have a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email yourmirror@mirror.co.uk.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.