Rhianna Benson
Doing 'Secret Santa' within the workplace can be tricky business.
And no one is more aware of that than one woman, who recently revealed the gift she received from a colleague this year, in a shocking exposé which has sent the internet into a spin.
As we say, exchanging Christmas gifts with colleagues can pose significantly more risks than doing so with friends and family.
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I mean, what if you draw the name of someone you hardly know?
Or what if you go slightly over budget to buy a close co-worker something special, but the person who pulled your name gets something lacklustre?
Or - even worse - what if someone from work buys you something rather inappropriate for workplace festivities?
As is the case of one woman who, despite receiving four gifts in her work 'Secret Santa', but claimed each one had left her physically repulsed.
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Taking to parenting discussion forum Mumsnet, the anonymous lady in question asked if she's 'being unreasonable' to be 'totally baffled' by her set of gifts, before sharing several snaps.
"Got my secret Santa today from work and tbh I'm disgusted by it," she explained, before delving into what her gift bag consisted of.
The woman began by sharing snaps of several bags of chocolate, two of which have expiry dates of 2020 - meaning the sweet treats inside are over four years out of date by now - and another dating back to 2022.
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She also shared photos of two, visibly-used bottles of nail varnish - the packaging of which the receiver described as 'manky'.
Coming in third was a pair of socks 'that look like they've been worn', 'stink of stale perfume' and look to be 'falling to bits'.
And lastly, a lip balm which appeared to have a huge, finger-shaped smudge delving deep into the centre.
"It all smells vaguely like charity shop and tbh it's all going to go in the bin," the woman wrote.
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"The nail varnish doesn't look bad in packs but the lids were covered in dust and felt dirty. There's also nail varnish all over the outer bottles."
The anonymous poster went on to admit: "I'm really disappointed by it and tbh extremely confused!
"To be clear, I wasn't expecting anything extravagant!"
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As we say, the woman's post has caused quite the stir online, with one write jibing in the comments: "Blimey! What did other lucky employees get... or do you think someone's trying to tell you something?"
A second added: "How weird. It’s almost like they forgot it was SS and grabbed a load of random c**p from around their house."
Another reader suggested she inform her boss of her predicament.
"That's c**p for you," they wrote.
"I would actually show this to management and insist they put out an email to all staff saying that Secret Santa is meant to be a bit of fun and giving a gift like this is not acceptable."
The original poster then penned back to explain that she had, in fact, reported the incident to her bosses.
"Management know and are just as disgusted," she added. "I would genuinely rather have had a cheap bar or chocolate than this."
Other readers, however, have taken a slightly difference stance on the matter, suggesting that the gift-giver might have been strapped for cash this year, but still wanted to partake.
"Throw it away, and assume someone is really struggling for cash this Christmas," one suggested. "Don’t let it get to you and buy yourself a nice treat instead?"
A second continued: "Yes it is a rubbish secret santa present. I’d assume they were really strapped for cash, bin it and don’t let it upset you."
"How weird. It’s almost like they forgot it was SS and grabbed a load of random crap from around their house," another added.