A Pennsylvania man took to social media to denounce the concept of mystery Santa-style gift exchanges, after putting a lot of effort into his gift, only to end up with… grocery store chocolates.
“I will never participate in Secret Santa again, for any job, in any workplace – ever again. I went as far as I could (…) and I received a box of candy,” he said in a video on TikTok, reported by the New York Post.
In just two days, the tempestuous testimony of the employee, who lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania, had already reached more than 23.8 million views while many Internet users recognized themselves in his story.
Last Friday, the man showed up at his office party after putting on his ugly Christmas sweater, with in his hands a gift bag covered in Christmas lights and bells, wrapped in Santa paper, in which he found several gifts for the lucky lady.
“I went above and beyond expectations. It’s Christmas, some people don’t even receive gifts, and sometimes Secret Santa is the only gift the person will receive so I want (…) to be sure to always go further,” said he continued in the video.
Except that for his part, his mystery Santa wasn’t even present for the exchange, so the man finally received his gift on Monday. When he opened the blue box, fitted with a cabbage, he only discovered grocery store chocolates.
“I know Reese’s, Hershey’s and Mr. GoodBar can be pretty expensive, but I have $25? Well, maybe she spent a little money on the cabbage and the box, but gang, I got a box of candy,” he concluded with a sigh.
On the internet, the employee’s annoyance opened the door to a wave of similar testimonies, while many Internet users in turn deplored the concept of Secret Santa, which often leads to disappointment.
“I will never forget, in a previous job, I never received my gift. My mystery Santa kept saying he was going to bring it, then he resigned a week later,” one of them said, according to the New York Post.
“They had saved their Halloween candy,” laughed another, while a third testified to having seen his colleague receive a bag containing 10 pounds of rice during their office exchange.
