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I think that if you participate in a $20 Yankee swap, you should actually take $20, go to a store, and spend it on a gift. You should not be allowed to throw in crap you have laying around your house or things that you got for free from vendors that you think could be valued at $20.
The spending of the $20 should be a required, not optional.
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December 18th, 2005 at 3:45 am
i just participated in a yankee swap where i totally forgot to bring my gift. granted this was no $20 yankee swap. $20 is pretty high. yankee swaps are for crappy things you have lying around the house, or in my case, lying in my bag. my yankee swap gift consisted of a new belgium brewing bike tire patch kit, a bandaid, a tiny bottle of lotion, a few spare buttons and a tampon. all of those items could get someone out of a jam. in exchange i received a USED wolfgang puck candle with a “salad with ginger and something else” scent. it was supposed to make you want to go to a wolfgang puck restaurant. luckily there was a 1-800 number, so i called and told them what i really thought about their candle and tried to explain to them why their holiday sales were low. who wants candles that smell like salad?
December 18th, 2005 at 12:46 pm
i heard you can get slightly warm poop in a bag for under 20 on ebay. is that a good gift?
December 19th, 2005 at 8:05 am
how about a $10 yankee swap where if you do not feel like going out to purchase your gift, you can give the $10 to a coworker who will then go out and buy your gift for you.. If you can’t be bothered to go out and actually buy the gift yourself, why bother participating?! If you can regift, at least it shows you actually put some thought into it…
December 19th, 2005 at 8:43 am
Sigh … this may be my last year organizing the office’s swap. It’s amazing how many times I had to resolve some dispute. And then someone didn’t like the fact I was the “rules committee”. Tough – you can organized it next year!! Yeah, let’s have a whole committee for a swap. Arghhhhh!! While it’s not a lot of effort organizing the the swap, the b*tching is starting to outweigh the enjoyment of the event.
BTW – I agree with Jon. What’s funny is that the old limit was $10 and it was bumped up because people bitched that you can’t buy anything for $10.
Next year, it’s a swap for one. Ahhh… I feel better now.
December 19th, 2005 at 11:34 am
Life as a Pronoun – Now you know why the boss delegated it to *you* this year!
December 19th, 2005 at 4:29 pm
Very funny comments. Girl child, you made me laugh out loud. I do agree, Jon. If you take the time to get the gift, there is nothing worse than getting something from the cellar. I got a 1 1/2 inch curling iron – what am I going to do with that when I don’t even have 1″ long hair anymore? This year we’re doing a book swap. Then, even if it’s used, it’s not that bad, right?
December 20th, 2005 at 11:17 am
Delegated to me? Nah. I took the initiative to do it because I think it’s the little things that build teamwork and make the workplace a little less corporate.
My wife got a good laugh that I was (in her words) “in charge” of morale for the group. Freakin’ scary. Spirit week next week folks!
December 20th, 2005 at 5:07 pm
Jon,
That totally sucked Ass…
I’ve always been of the mindset that I wouldn’t wrap anything for the swap that I wouldn’t personally be excited at getting, or didn’t actually own one of my own.
yo sistah said “yankee swaps are for crappy things you have lying around the house…” I hope that she is in the minority cause if everyone really thinks that way, I really don’t want to participate anymore.
Next time I see someone get shafted with such a gift, I’m going to grow a set and ask “What a cool Idea… who thought if this wonderfully crazy gift”. Once the scrooge is identified I’ll call them to task, “Seriously where’s the ‘real’ gift, cause this isn’t what those of us who spent some money and gave some thought signed up for”.
If it’s me getting the crap, I’ll swap it back to it’s giver, especially if they haven’t had a chance to select a gift yet… I’ll exclaim that I’m “Yankee swapping their turn in the game”. Since what they did was so clever, I’m sure my response would be considered even more hilarious.
December 21st, 2005 at 2:47 am
let me clarify, another co-worker. the yankee swap i participated in was clearly defined as being for something crappy you have around the house that might generate a laugh or two. personally i don’t need any more “stuff” in my life and i work for an organization with two employees, so yankee swaps of “real” gifts are out of the question. i can’t stand christmas b/c there is a feeling of obligation to buy a gift for someone even if you can’t think of a damn thing to buy. so you buy them something “ok” instead of waiting until perhaps june, when you find the coolest fucking thing ever that they will totally love.
December 21st, 2005 at 8:51 am
I misunderstood yo sistah. A yankee swap where you are supposed to bring something crappy sounds like it could be a bit fun.
I dislike that aspect of christmas gift giving for the same reason as you, I think. When I find something perfect for someone in June, I buy it and give it to them then. I don’t have the will power to hoard it for another 6 months. Even if I did I would probably misplace it.
Peace, and Merry Christmas to you!