Holiday gift swaps at work are supposed to be lighthearted, but one woman says her office Secret Santa left her more deflated than festive. She explained that she put real time and thought into the present she made for a colleague, only to feel like the effort was barely matched on the other side. After sharing what happened online, her disappointment quickly turned into a wider conversation about expectations, budgets, and what counts as “good enough” in a workplace exchange.
In a TikTok video, she showed the gift basket she assembled herself, styled in soft, creamy tones and packed with little treats. Inside were seasonal snacks, a candle, a mug, a reusable straw, socks, lip gloss, a decorative mini pumpkin, perfume, and even flavored whipped cream. It looked curated rather than random, the kind of basket that suggests she planned it in advance instead of grabbing things last minute. She seemed proud of the result and excited for the moment she’d open her own surprise.
That excitement didn’t last long. When she revealed what she received, the contrast felt stark to her. Her Secret Santa gift included a Christmas-themed mug, fluffy penguin socks, a lip balm, and a few KitKat bars. She stressed that she was grateful, but still wrote that she wouldn’t participate next year, adding that she didn’t want to end up in the same situation again.
The post, shared on TikTok under the handle @poll_time, racked up more than 1.3 million views and nearly 100,000 likes, along with a flood of opinions. Some viewers argued she set herself up for frustration by going big, saying a workplace exchange is not the place for over-the-top effort. Others said the real issue was imbalance, pointing out that one person clearly went above and beyond while the other did the bare minimum, and that the smartest approach sits somewhere in the middle.
Plenty of commenters also pushed back on the idea that she should simply accept whatever she got without complaint. Some said they would have been just as annoyed, especially if the group had agreed on a certain standard. A number of people suggested that mismatched spending is what turns a fun tradition into something awkward and resentful.
In follow-up responses, she clarified why she felt so upset. According to her, the budget was agreed in advance and it was fairly generous. She later learned the person assigned to her didn’t really try and asked a sister to shop for the gift instead, and the final purchase came in well under the set amount. What do you think, should Secret Santa be purely about the gesture, or does sticking to the agreed budget matter most? Share your take in the comments.
