Naff, but we love Secret Santa

Photo / NZ Herald

Secret Santa rituals have left some workers with redder faces than Father Christmas.

But the nation's verdict is in: the old workplace tradition of exchanging anonymous el cheapo presents is naff, but nice, according to an nzherald.co.nz poll.

The Herald on Sunday has learned of embarrassing gaffes: one Auckland salesman gave a book to an embarrassed colleague, How to increase the size of your penis. And at a Hamilton radio station, one woman received crotchless undies and a vibrator.

But despite the potential for humiliation, many Kiwis still love the cheap thrill of opening a Secret Santa gift.

Of 13,501 online responses, 46 per cent of people said the tradition was "good, festive fun". A smaller group - 25 per cent - said it was "naff" and 30 per cent were Christmas Scrooges who regarded Secret Santa as a waste of money.

A quick survey of media professionals, dragged away from their Christmas parties to recall this year's Secret Santa anecdotes, revealed they had received anything from jewellery to novelty ice cube trays from their Secret Santas.

High on the list of worst presents from workmates were racy underwear, sex toys and impersonal gifts like a beach towel and a deck of cards. In one misguided joke, a vertically-challenged worker received a pair of toy high heels from a colleague.

Massage vouchers, photographs of friends, scarves and bags proved to be among the most popular gifts.

The Secret Santa tradition is often practised in workplaces or large families, usually with a set $5 or $10 limit, as a way for many people to give and receive presents at a low cost.

One Auckland University lecturer insisted Secret Santa was naff and meaningless.

"I can't stand junk," she said. "I'm a bit of a grinch. I don't like Secret Santa but the other people in the office love it."

She kept a box of past presents to re-gift, which included chocolates (when she was trying to lose weight), a picture frame and cup and saucer set.

At her department's Secret Santa exchange on Wednesday, the woman gave an unsuspecting colleague the picture frame and received plants in return. "I did feel guilty about it as I slunk away."

Another Auckland University expert, sociology lecturer Dr Colin Cremin, said traditions such as Secret Santa helped to reinforce social bonds.

"It's easy to dismiss these rituals as a waste of time and money but I suspect this misses the point that it's not the quality of the present that matters but the symbolic function of the ritual itself," he said.

People needed to distinguish between the commercialism of Christmas and social rituals like Secret Santa that help to maintain "communal identification", said Cremin.

Almost 300 Kiwis - a third of those from Auckland - took part in an online Secret Santa exchange this month through social networking site Twitter.

Hamilton storeman Sam Elton-Walters, 28, whose idea it was, believed the popularity of the tradition was because of its surprise element.

Participating Tweeters emailed Elton-Walters with their address and were placed on a spreadsheet. Their Secret Santa recipient was then randomly chosen and their details sent to the gift buyer who was supposed to spend no more than $5 on the anonymous present.

"I think people just like receiving mail and not knowing what it is," Elton-Walters said.

An Auckland photographer was delighted to receive a camera lens for his iPhone.