Work Christmas Present Exchange Vent

[magicdomino]

So, what did your husband get?

[onikenbai]

My company did a re-gift-a-thon.  Fine, but they had strange rules.  We drew lots to see who got to choose from under the tree in what order.  Being #1 had it's benefits in a huge way!  Each person got the chance to choose a gift from under the tree OR steal gift that had already been opened.  Since the #1 person didn't get the option of stealing, they got final option after everything had been opened. Of course, the #1 person stole my gift and gave me what she opened, which happened to be what I had put under the tree in the first place.  I, of course, don't want my re-gift back, so I gave it up as free to a good home, but in the end, I came away from the gift-giving extravaganza empty-handed.  I can deal with that and move on but what strange kind of gift-giving rules are these?

[Venus193]

My company did a re-gift-a-thon.  Fine, but they had strange rules.  We drew lots to see who got to choose from under the tree in what order.  Being #1 had it's benefits in a huge way!  Each person got the chance to choose a gift from under the tree OR steal gift that had already been opened.  Since the #1 person didn't get the option of stealing, they got final option after everything had been opened. Of course, the #1 person stole my gift and gave me what she opened, which happened to be what I had put under the tree in the first place.  I, of course, don't want my re-gift back, so I gave it up as free to a good home, but in the end, I came away from the gift-giving extravaganza empty-handed.  I can deal with that and move on but what strange kind of gift-giving rules are these?

Noplace I've ever worked did it this way and I'm grateful.  This sounds like it has the potential for bringing out the worst in people.

[Katharine]

My company did a re-gift-a-thon.  Fine, but they had strange rules.  We drew lots to see who got to choose from under the tree in what order.  Being #1 had it's benefits in a huge way!  Each person got the chance to choose a gift from under the tree OR steal gift that had already been opened.  Since the #1 person didn't get the option of stealing, they got final option after everything had been opened. Of course, the #1 person stole my gift and gave me what she opened, which happened to be what I had put under the tree in the first place.  I, of course, don't want my re-gift back, so I gave it up as free to a good home, but in the end, I came away from the gift-giving extravaganza empty-handed.  I can deal with that and move on but what strange kind of gift-giving rules are these?

That seems to be a common way to do things in swaps. We call them "Yankee Swaps". That is how the family one will be run tonight at the inlaws. It is new stuff though not regifts.

[Slartibartfast]

My group of friends is doing one of these specifically for re-gifts - the things you'd feel guilty not using, but think are horrendously ugly.

My MIL gave DH and I a giant rotating chicken windsock.  I tried to find a picture online, but I can't seem to find one - let me just say it's tacky in the extreme (unless you're intentionally decorating in kitch) and I am definitely looking forward to this swap!

I only wish I could do something with the $100 worth of gift cards Grandma gave us for a store I refuse to shop at for moral reasons . . . or the two cute-and-geeky-but-duplicates-of-something-we-already-have items DH got.  (An alarm clock that shows the time in binary - neat idea, but I have a hard enough time reading a regular clock in the morning, which is why the one I received last year is still in a box.  And a disk of screensavers, which I wouldn't use even if I didn't already have the same disk given by the same grandmother for my birthday two months ago.)

[ehellion]

So, what did your husband get?

He got some nice, warm, very comfortable Isotoner gloves that are waaay too small for him. Darn, guess I"LL have to wear them, lol.

[ehellion]

I only wish I could do something with the $100 worth of gift cards Grandma gave us for a store I refuse to shop at for moral reasons . . . or the two cute-and-geeky-but-duplicates-of-something-we-already-have items DH got. 

Oh, that's easy. You mail them to me. You can send them to PO Box....oh, not what you had in mind? 

A giant rotating chicken windsock? What the heck is that? That could be either really cool or really tacky, lol.

[Alida]

I only wish I could do something with the $100 worth of gift cards Grandma gave us for a store I refuse to shop at for moral reasons . . .

You could try Gift Card Buy Back?

[dawbs]

I only wish I could do something with the $100 worth of gift cards Grandma gave us for a store I refuse to shop at for moral reasons .

Since said company already has the money (and their profit), perhaps donate it to a good cause?  I have donated phone cards, wal-mart gift cards, best-buy gift cards, etc to my local animal rescue groups, who do have uses for them (and if they don't, they ask if they can use it as a prize in a raffle, etc)

[Slartibartfast]

I only wish I could do something with the $100 worth of gift cards Grandma gave us for a store I refuse to shop at for moral reasons . . .

You could try Gift Card Buy Back?

Ooh, thanks for the recommendation!  She sent DH and I each a $50 gift card, so I went to this site and hopefully I mail them a card and they send me a $40 check within a week or two.  If I get that, I'll exchange the second card :-)

I was really torn with what to do, because giving it to charity, etc. all mean this store is getting the money anyway.  It looks like this site re-sells the cards, so even if Grandma already paid for them, it means someone else won't be . . . this may be a one-person boycott, but at least I can try to make it effective :-)

[kckgirl]

Since said company already has the money (and their profit), perhaps donate it to a good cause?

I was really torn with what to do, because giving it to charity, etc. all mean this store is getting the money anyway.

The store gets the money when the gift giver purchases the card, not when you spend it. You would be benefiting the animal shelter, homeless shelter, etc., if you gave the card to them. The store where the card was purchased won't be hurt at all either way. They already got the money.

[Slartibartfast]

That is true, but if I go give two $50 cards to the animal shelter, they buy $100 of goods they wouldn't have been able to buy otherwise.  The store loses $0 in potential revenue - they wouldn't have gotten anything from the shelter if I hadn't given away the card.  Instead, by "selling" the two $50 cards to someone else, they still spend the $100 at the store, but the store loses $100 in potential revenue that the person would have spent there directly - they used that $100 to buy the cards from me instead.  (Okay, so I'm "selling" it through a third-party site, and the person who ultimately ends up with the cards probably pays less than full price for them, but it's a step in the right direction.)