When Your Secret Santa Has Mischief On His Mind

secret santa

 

Merry ChristmasWhat can be more heart warming than to receive a thoughtful gift from your Secret Santa at work. After all, no adult ever outgrows the sheer joy of tearing through the wrapper of their first Christmas present.

But there are times when co-workers turned Santas have mischief on their mind.

These Puneites share episodes of when their Secret Santas turned tres risqué or even downright hilarious…

Shivika Nair reveals the worst Secret Santa present she ever received was as an intern. “I was interning at a design firm where they treated me like an errand girl. I was 21 and it was my first gig, so I was prepared to pay my dues. Until Christmas-”

It was the last week of my internship and the gift was a single, dirty ‘sock’. A small note that came with the gift hinted that I was like ‘Dobby ’ an overworked, underpaid office-elf. They joked that the sock was the gift of freedom.

“Baffled, I floundered to figure out whether it was a cheap gift or a nasty joke. But that was about it,” she chuckles in retrospect.

Sruti Saberwal has a bone to pick with her colleague and friend. “Two Christmases ago, he gifted me a VLCC voucher and a card that joked ‘Lay off the candy fatty’. This year we’re working together and I plan to get back at him.

I just drew my best friend’s name in our office Secret Santa. I want to pick something funny and may just sign him up for belly dance lessons. That should show him!

Vishal Arora talks about another Secret Santa fail. “Last year, someone at the firm gifted me a designer bag. Bright yellow and very girly, it was definitely not something I could use. I tend to dress a certain way and it has at times led people to assume that I am queer. But gifting me a designer ladies bag was a cheap shot. I suspect it was the handiwork of a few of the jocks at the firm. Everyone laughed as I unwrapped the gift. It was really quite embarrassing.”

A graphic designer by profession, Samuel Thomas has planned a special surprise this Christmas.

Our office is celebrating the ‘Joy of Giving’ and we have a CSR activity where we’re all playing Secret Santas’ for kids from a local orphanage. My ward is a particular notorious little boy Suleman who is keenly into sports.

“I’ve planned to get him a cricket set, football gear and winter clothes. Staying away from home during the holidays is particularly difficult. But hopefully I can make this time of the year really special for one little fella who certainly deserves it,” he grins.

Aditi Balsaver