Cross Kringle
Ok, I understand the concept of Kris Kringles and I think it has merit in some instances. I believe C's family do it. $20 or so on a present for one person in the family, so everybody doesn't have to spend a fortune buying the whole clan something.
But in an office environment, I have a bit of an issue with it. I was temping for a company once and everyone had to participate. I hadn't been there long and ended up getting some stupid gift pack thing you get from a pharmacy. The type of cheap perfume, soaps and powders that little old ladies with dyed purple hair wear. The stuff that kills grass as the person walks by. It showed the person knew nothing about me, didn't care what they got me, and that they had no taste or imagination.
So it shouldn't surprise anyone that I didn't go in either of the two different Kris Kringles they have going at work this year. Why two? Who knows! One of the secretaries started one for anyone who wanted to participate. Then another secretary started one for administration staff only. Doesn't make sense.
As she was distributing her envelopes in our department, the first secretary made a comment about how we're a 'bunch of scrooges in this department'. First of all, it's voluntary and therefore we're under no obligation to go spend money on people we have no interest in at any other time of the year. Second of all, our department is mostly 25-30 something technical computer guys. They're not going to be skipping down to the shop to buy something for a 40 or 50 year old secretary. Thirdly, if we liked any of these people enough to be bothered to buy them something, we wouldn't wait to be asked. We'd just do it.
Have your Christmas spirit. I'm happy for you. Be festive. I will smile at your excitement. Heck, despite my lack of cartwheeling and skipping down the street at this time of year, I still have a great time setting up a Christmas tree, or putting up lights, or buying and wrapping stuff for people I care about.
But please don't come into my space, chastising me in your knitted santa sweater, with your Christmas tree earrings and fake reindeer antlers, telling me I'm a bad person coz I don't want to spend $10 on a present you'll probably hate anyway.
Ok, so she wasn't wearing all the festive stuff, but she may as well have been.
But in an office environment, I have a bit of an issue with it. I was temping for a company once and everyone had to participate. I hadn't been there long and ended up getting some stupid gift pack thing you get from a pharmacy. The type of cheap perfume, soaps and powders that little old ladies with dyed purple hair wear. The stuff that kills grass as the person walks by. It showed the person knew nothing about me, didn't care what they got me, and that they had no taste or imagination.
So it shouldn't surprise anyone that I didn't go in either of the two different Kris Kringles they have going at work this year. Why two? Who knows! One of the secretaries started one for anyone who wanted to participate. Then another secretary started one for administration staff only. Doesn't make sense.
As she was distributing her envelopes in our department, the first secretary made a comment about how we're a 'bunch of scrooges in this department'. First of all, it's voluntary and therefore we're under no obligation to go spend money on people we have no interest in at any other time of the year. Second of all, our department is mostly 25-30 something technical computer guys. They're not going to be skipping down to the shop to buy something for a 40 or 50 year old secretary. Thirdly, if we liked any of these people enough to be bothered to buy them something, we wouldn't wait to be asked. We'd just do it.
Have your Christmas spirit. I'm happy for you. Be festive. I will smile at your excitement. Heck, despite my lack of cartwheeling and skipping down the street at this time of year, I still have a great time setting up a Christmas tree, or putting up lights, or buying and wrapping stuff for people I care about.
But please don't come into my space, chastising me in your knitted santa sweater, with your Christmas tree earrings and fake reindeer antlers, telling me I'm a bad person coz I don't want to spend $10 on a present you'll probably hate anyway.
Ok, so she wasn't wearing all the festive stuff, but she may as well have been.
posted by E in Oz at 1:00 pm
these thoughts escaped my brain at 1:00 pm
3 Comments:
I am always glad to say that the only gift giving we do at my work is to have 3 different Christmas trees. The ornaments are paper and each one has a child's name and gift wish on it. Pull an ornament, buy the gift, put the name on it, put it under the tree.
No Secret Santa, no gift exchange at all. Much better this way. Plus we adopt 3 families. One per shift.
Although I do have one of those women with the sweaters that actually light up because there's a battery pack inside. erg
Christmas? Bah, humbug!
Maybe we should start a movement - everybody gives each other cash for Xmas. It's simple, convenient, cheap on postage...ah, the holiday stress is dissipating as I think about it...
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