When you tear open the wrapping to reveal something you really don’t want, isn’t appropriate or is the last thing on the planet you’d give to anyone, what do you say?
Impossible task
It’s only fair to point out at this stage, that buying a funny, perfectly spot-on, ideal present for a recipient you hardly know, within the price limit that’s been set, is nigh on impossible. You know yourself how it feels when you get given the name of the person you’re supposed to buy for. And that brings me to the First Lesson about what to say when you open your Secret Santa gift:
Put yourself in the giver’s shoes (empathy)
This shouldn’t be difficult to do because you too, have had the onerous task of finding the ideal present for one of your colleagues as part of the Secret Santa festivities. You have no idea what to get, have very little time and have loads of other things to do in the hectic weeks before Christmas. So just imagine how difficult it is to buy a present for you! Say something like,
“I must be the most difficult person in the team to buy for – I bet you were horrified when you got my name!”
There are, of course, always the stalwarts of Christmas Santa sacks – ‘smellies’, socks or stationery but you don’t want to be boring. You want to impress your colleagues. You want to be original and clever in your choice of gift. And that brings me to the Second Lesson of what to say when you open your Secret Santa gift:
Be witty in your response (creativity)
You’ve heard of ‘thinking out-of-the-box’? Well this is the time to do it, quite literally, in some cases. Whatever emerges from the wrapping you need to be ready with a merry quip or an entertaining riposte. Something like, “Ah, I see someone wants to be crossed off my Christmas card list next year!” or even better, a comment that relates to the gift in question: “Ah, an egg timer to measure how late people are for our team meetings!”
In trying to be clever and funny in their choice of gift, your giver may have over-stepped the mark and chosen something for you which you regard as totally inappropriate. And that brings us to the Third Lesson:
Be prepared for anything (contingency planning)
Don’t be dumb-founded and remember to control your facial expression! Do say something like, “I was told to be prepared for anything – and I am!”
Remember, it’s meant to be fun. Here’s the Fourth Lesson:
Enter into the spirit of the occasion (team building)
Treat the occasion as a team-building experience and enter into the spirit of it all. Show that you’re having fun and enjoying the bonhomie by saying, “This is a hoot! I’m really enjoying myself”. Make sure everyone is participating and that your noisier colleagues aren’t hogging all the limelight. It’s very easy for one or two quiet people to slip into the background and not participate fully. Engage them in the jollities too. Lead by example by speaking out clearly when you open your gift. Make sure you don’t mutter something under your breath and allow proceedings to move on apace, as soon as you’ve opened your gift. Here’s the Fifth Lesson:
Say something (feedback)
You must say something! An awkward silence isn’t what’s called for at this moment. Your gift giver needs some feedback. Open your mouth and say, “I’m not sure what you expect me to do with this!” or “That is a brilliant choice, and complements my outfit/phone/desk perfectly!”
Given the hard work that has gone into buying you a present in the first place (see Lesson One above), it’s important to give praise where praise is due. And this takes us to the Sixth Lesson.
Congratulate the gift giver (give praise) People need to know what you think of their gift and it’s important to show when you’re impressed and very pleased with your present. Say, “I must congratulate you on your brilliant choice of gift” or, “This is perfect, that was very clever of you to choose this gift/colour/size”. Appreciation is important. Our Seventh (and final) Lesson is non-negotiable when it comes to What To Say When You Open Your Secret Santa gift:
Say thank you (show appreciation)
Remember your manners. Saying a heartfelt ‘thank you’ is the most important thing of all to say.
Here’s your Learning Summary:
Opening your Secret Santa gift is like your everyday working life. Just remember these Seven Lessons. You need to:
- Put yourself in the other person’s shoes (empathy)
- Be witty (think out-of-the-box and be creative)
- Be prepared for anything (contingency planning)
- Enter into the spirit of the occasion (team building)
- Say something (give feedback)
- Congratulate the gift giver (give praise)
- Say thank you (show appreciation)
Here endeth the Lesson - except to say that there are 34 ‘What To Say When…’ short videos in our WATCH & GO online video learning library. You can see the list of titles here.
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Enjoy your Secret Santa and Happy Christmas from us all at Scott Bradbury!