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JTMacc99

By JTMacc99
in Everything Else

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We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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theredhead77

theredhead77

3 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I've been asked to organize and run a 'Christmas sock exchange' game at a luncheon.  Everyone is asked to bring a wrapped pair of Christmas socks.  I'm used to how we run our 'Dirty Santa' exchange at the library's Christmas party, but this one probably has to be a little different. The way we do it in our department is that everyone who is participating brings a gift and puts it under the little tabletop Christmas tree.  When we are just about ready to begin, the person organizing it asks for everyone who will be participating to raise their hands (so he/she can get a count). Then slips are numbered from 1 to whatever (depending on how many people are participating) and each person draws a number. Number one goes first and chooses a gift (and has to open it so everyone can see what they got).  Then number 2 can either choose a gift from under the tree or take an opened gift from that first person (one rule is that they are not allowed to choose and open a gift and then decide to exchange it). The other rule is that once a gift has been chosen and 'stolen' once (or maybe twice, I can't remember) it is 'retired' and can't be stolen again. It's a lot of fun when you have about 30 people in the group.

But, with all gifts being socks, I'm not sure if this would work, since part of the fun each year is looking over the array of gift bags, small boxes, larger boxes and deciding which one might have a great gift.  But these packages will likely all be about the same shape and size (whether in a bag or a box). 

Do you think I can follow the usual way of doing this exchange? (Part of the fun is looking over the array of gift boxes, bags, large and small, and trying to guess which one might have a great gift in them.  These will likely all be similar wrapped items in shape and size.) People could still choose to 'steal' a pair of socks from someone if they really like them and that person could then get another gift from the table. 

Mainly I'm just wondering if 'sock exchange' games are run differently than the usual Dirty Santa game. 

A Dirty Santa sock exchange sounds fun. There are some expensive novelty socks out there though, you may want to put a price range, or a price cap to not have it too imbalanced. 

BooksRule

BooksRule

25 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

A Dirty Santa sock exchange sounds fun. There are some expensive novelty socks out there though, you may want to put a price range, or a price cap to not have it too imbalanced. 

We didn't put a cap on it, but most of the attendees are retirees (this is a community group, not work-related) and have been known to comment about the cost of things, so I don't think we're going to go too fancy with the socks (at least I hope not).  Personally, I got a cute pair at Target for well under $10.  

Our work-related lunch where we play Dirty Santa has a limit of $10 for the gifts, since all library employees are invited and some don't make very much money at all (not that us faculty librarians are rolling in the dough! :) ).  I picked up one of those cute little mini skillet/noodle cookers for my contribution.  I lucked out one year and found a Crockpot -- not one of the little ones, but a full-sized one -- at Walmart for $9.98 to bring.  I'm guessing it was a 'loss leader' (I think that's what it's called) priced low to entice people to buy other stuff.  That gift was 'stolen' a couple of times before someone got to keep it that day! 

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)

I recall Mom’s stories of Christmas gift exchanges she and Dad would attend with the “stealing” feature. It sounded almost as bad as Musical Chairs. Her goal was always to come home with the gift she brought.
She delighted to tell of her trickery to achieve this goal.

With the perspective of many years, I finally feel vindicated for not wanting to partake in such games that I can now see are the antithesis of the spirit of generosity.
Note: Mom was a very generous gift-giver outside of these games.

 

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Took me a second to figure out what “dirty Santa” was.  We call it “secret Santa.”  

Same. 
Does “Dirty” Santa refer to a gift giver who “steals” gifts for themselves?
If so, I can appreciate the honesty of the moniker.

I’ve never participated in a gift exchange where each participant secretly gets the name of another for whom to purchase a gift; that seems like enforced generosity — ill-conceived for a number of reasons, including individual needs, wants, and capacities to give.

So I guess the “stealing” feature helps mitigate all that.

Even the many potlucks I’ve attended in the past could be equally fraught, given the strong opinions about what constitutes good food. 

Have I already mentioned the time I was required to register for something online that I knew I’d never use, and I hastily chose the username of iHateOfficeParties?

Bah. Humbug.

Never mind me.

But I do love socks.

I have 2 drawers full of them.😆
 

Edited by shapeshifter
change a comma to a semicolon for clarity
  • Like 5
shapeshifter

shapeshifter

19 hours ago, kristen111 said:

@shapeshifter  BTW, did you decide or have you already moved near your daughter?  I haven’t been reading all the posts.

18 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Still in flux.
Potential landlady's husband passed. 
Realtor handling it went to Florida for a month.
I got RSV. 

Need to decide in the next week. 
The realtor saw my place. Because this is no longer a good time to sell, I would barely break even, and definitely not make any profit to offset the cost of renting for a year at $1,750/mo.
So I might lease for just 3 months with an option to renew for a year, and put a For Sale By Owner sign in my condo window for 3 months, after which, if it doesn't sell, I will either list it with a realtor or move back in.

15 hours ago, kristen111 said:

Oh Geeze .. so much trouble, I’m so sorry.  It’s not easy to relocate.  Do you want me to send you a Sugar Daddy?  Financial purposes only.  Jesting.  I loathe selling and moving.  Been there, no joke.  My last and final move back to New York from Florida put us in the poorhouse, but I have my Munchkins at least.  Good luck, anyhow.  Xo

I’m now feeling so overwhelmed that I might just stay put for a bit longer. 

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ginger90

ginger90

8 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

I’m throwing out all my CDs/books and most dvds. And then clothes. I accumulated too much stuff.

I recently moved and gave clothing to a women’s shelter, books, CDs, and DVDs went to the library.

If you want to get some money, look on eBay at the sold prices, not the for sale prices of DVDs, you could have some that would sell.

  • Like 7
SoMuchTV

SoMuchTV

8 hours ago, PRgal said:

Took me a second to figure out what “dirty Santa” was.  We call it “secret Santa.”  

 

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Same.

Interesting - in my experience, "secret Santa" is the version where a group draws names, then you become "Santa" to the person you drew, either with a "big" gift at an event, with little gifts that you sneak into their desk/locker/whatever over the course of several days, or both.  The "secret" part being that you're not supposed to tell who you got (or not until the big exchange, anyway).

"Dirty Santa" seems to go by different names depending on where you are/who you're with - I've heard "Yankee swap", "white elephant" (although I think technically that's where you repurpose stuff you already have), and some other names I'm not remembering.

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chitowngirl

chitowngirl

19 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

"Dirty Santa" seems to go by different names depending on where you are/who you're with - I've heard "Yankee swap", "white elephant" (although I think technically that's where you repurpose stuff you already have), and some other names I'm not remembering.

My mom’s group would hold a White Elephant exchange at our January meeting. We subtitled it “the gift your mother-in-law gave you”.

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TattleTeeny

TattleTeeny

(edited)

Speaking of socks...thoughts on compression socks? My BF is on his feet all day at his comic store and I wanted to get him some for Xmas. But I don't mean the super-medical-necessity ones, just some everyday ones that are good and comfortable (and maybe less expensive than Bombas)? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Edited by TattleTeeny
kristen111

kristen111

4 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

I’m throwing out all my CDs/books and most dvds. And then clothes. I accumulated too much stuff. Good lord. 
 

My resolution for 2024 is: only buy what I need! No frivolous buying of anything food included!

Wasted so much $$$!

(And old electronics lol). I still have a Walkman! And a VCR!

Please think twice about that.  Cleaning out my Fathers house when he died, I left so much stuff there.  I was overwhelmed at the time.  Left my victrola, in great shape, 78 records, 45 records, maple dressers of real wood, and much more, like my vintage beautiful dresses too.  Then my Mothers China closet full of China.  I could kick myself now.  Think twice.  I still use my VCR as I have lots of old movies I watch here n there.  Old things are coming back.
 

 

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isalicat

isalicat

5 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

I’m throwing out all my CDs/books and most dvds. And then clothes. I accumulated too much stuff. Good lord. 
 

My resolution for 2024 is: only buy what I need! No frivolous buying of anything food included!

Wasted so much $$$!

(And old electronics lol). I still have a Walkman! And a VCR!

I hope "throwing out" is actually: "donating"....lots of people would love to have your unwanted stuff. Clothes, especially, if not too worn or stained, can go to a shelter for domestic violence victims or to a reputable local thrift store (the latter of which will be happy to take your CDs and books too - bonus points for finding a thrift store that benefits a good cause!).

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

Speaking of socks...thoughts on compression socks? My BF is on his feet all day at his comic store and I wanted to get him some for Xmas. But I don't mean the super-medical-necessity ones, just some everyday ones that are good and comfortable (and maybe less expensive than Bombas)? Does anyone have any recommendations?

A little while ago, the NY Times "wirecutter" feature did a survey of compression socks and recommended the best ones. If you can access that newspaper's website and do a search, that might be the way to find the perfect pair!

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emma675

emma675

2 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Speaking of socks...thoughts on compression socks? My BF is on his feet all day at his comic store and I wanted to get him some for Xmas. But I don't mean the super-medical-necessity ones, just some everyday ones that are good and comfortable (and maybe less expensive than Bombas)? Does anyone have any recommendations?

I just got off a 14 hour flight last night and wore compression socks the entire time. My legs and feet are totally fine today, no swelling at all (I forgot to wear them on a flight back from Italy a few years ago and it looked like I had bloated corpse feet by the end). The brand is called Crazy Compression and they have tons of styles and designs. Fair warning, they were a little difficult to get on and off, but nothing impossible. 

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SoMuchTV

SoMuchTV

1 hour ago, isalicat said:

I hope "throwing out" is actually: "donating"....lots of people would love to have your unwanted stuff. Clothes, especially, if not too worn or stained, can go to a shelter for domestic violence victims or to a reputable local thrift store (the latter of which will be happy to take your CDs and books too - bonus points for finding a thrift store that benefits a good cause!).

Not that I don’t agree with the rest of your post, but I wanted to pull that paragraph out to especially agree with. 

  • Like 6
SoMuchTV

SoMuchTV

Regarding “throwing out” - one of my kids came home from school on cleaning-out-the-locker day with a bag of trash, including not just partially used markers and pencils, but stuff like scissors, rulers, compasses, lots of very usable stuff!  (Which I rescued and reused!) She went on to get a degree in school counseling and got a job at a middle school where she was very happy to get school supplies in any condition to pass on to her students. So, karma? Wisdom with age? TLDR, I am triggered by the thought of throwing out usable stuff. 

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BooksRule

BooksRule

(edited)
19 hours ago, Bastet said:

People actually give a shit about socks, and something as specific as Christmas-themed socks?  One really does learn something new almost every day; What an odd idea was my reaction, but apparently I just hadn't previously come across this tradition.

I see the 'sock exchange' listed as a party activity now and then. This is the first year that I've been involved with this group, and I think they did it last year.  The lunch was actually today and I think it went well.  We had about 30 people participate. I first picked a gift bag that had the cutest pair of socks with raccoons on them (wearing Santa hats) and another pair with opossums and ornaments.  But someone 'stole' them from me and I had to choose another gift.  I ended up with a cute pair of red and white striped socks and because we had one extra gift bag left over, the party organizer gave it to me as a 'thank you' for running the game.  It had a pair of socks with different colored Christmas trees all over it.

I've also seen notices about parties where people are asked to bring a Christmas ornament to exchange. 

I'm guessing that these are decided on for gift exchanges because you don't have to really think about what to get.  It's so easy to find socks or an ornament instead of trying to find a gift that would please everyone. 

It was fun (and the food was good, too). 

Edited by BooksRule
typo
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TattleTeeny

TattleTeeny

3 hours ago, isalicat said:

 

A little while ago, the NY Times "wirecutter" feature did a survey of compression socks and recommended the best ones. If you can access that newspaper's website and do a search, that might be the way to find the perfect pair!

 

2 hours ago, emma675 said:

I just got off a 14 hour flight last night and wore compression socks the entire time. My legs and feet are totally fine today, no swelling at all (I forgot to wear them on a flight back from Italy a few years ago and it looked like I had bloated corpse feet by the end). The brand is called Crazy Compression and they have tons of styles and designs. Fair warning, they were a little difficult to get on and off, but nothing impossible. 

Thank you! ! I have looked at a few other lists and read a few reviews but never know what “real people” think. One thing I do know, though, is that if they’re hard to put on, they’ll be a no for him, haha! But oh my goodness, @emma675, you just reminded me of the time I could only wear flip-flops during a work trip in Las Vegas. I had never had swollen airplane feet before then, and they wasn’t visibly noticeable. But yikes, I could have saved a lot of suitcase space, had I known.

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kristen111

kristen111

On 12/7/2023 at 6:21 AM, shapeshifter said:

I recall Mom’s stories of Christmas gift exchanges she and Dad would attend with the “stealing” feature. It sounded almost as bad as Musical Chairs. Her goal was always to come home with the gift she brought.
She delighted to tell of her trickery to achieve this goal.

With the perspective of many years, I finally feel vindicated for not wanting to partake in such games that I can now see are the antithesis of the spirit of generosity.
Note: Mom was a very generous gift-giver outside of these games.

 

Same. 
Does “Dirty” Santa refer to a gift giver who “steals” gifts for themselves?
If so, I can appreciate the honesty of the moniker.

I’ve never participated in a gift exchange where each participant secretly gets the name of another for whom to purchase a gift; that seems like enforced generosity — ill-conceived for a number of reasons, including individual needs, wants, and capacities to give.

So I guess the “stealing” feature helps mitigate all that.

Even the many potlucks I’ve attended in the past could be equally fraught, given the strong opinions about what constitutes good food. 

Have I already mentioned the time I was required to register for something online that I knew I’d never use, and I hastily chose the username of iHateOfficeParties?

Bah. Humbug.

Never mind me.

But I do love socks.

I have 2 drawers full of them.😆
 

No gifts for Adults this year, but do I listen?  I just have to get a little something for my adult kids, so I’m taking a nice picture of one daughters whole family at a college football game this year and having it blown up and put in a nice frame.  For the second daughter, I’ll do the same .. a picture of her family at DisneyWorld.  For my Son, I don’t know yet.  I talk bullshit, then cave in the end.  Buying presents give me anxiety.  I had enough anxiety this year.

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Gramto6

Gramto6

(edited)
3 hours ago, kristen111 said:

No gifts for Adults this year, but do I listen?  I just have to get a little something for my adult kids, so I’m taking a nice picture of one daughters whole family at a college football game this year and having it blown up and put in a nice frame.  For the second daughter, I’ll do the same .. a picture of her family at DisneyWorld.  For my Son, I don’t know yet.  I talk bullshit, then cave in the end.  Buying presents give me anxiety.  I had enough anxiety this year.

I get the "no gifts for adults" and I think that photos are a pretty good idea fulfilling your wanting to gift "something" vs their goal. 

I pretty much do the same, gift cards for the kids individually and one for the parents jointly (though they say don't). I don't need anything, but, that is exactly what I would hope my kids/grands would give to me!! I don't get to see them in person much and a family photo would warm my heart.

I don't need any gifts! Goodness knows, I need to donate a bunch of "stuff" and get it out of here!

Edited by Gramto6
added on to post
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oliviabenson

oliviabenson

7 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

I get the "no gifts for adults" and I think that photos are a pretty good idea fulfilling your wanting to gift "something" vs their goal. 

I pretty much do the same, gift cards for the kids individually and one for the parents jointly (though they say don't). I don't need anything, but, that is exactly what I would hope my kids/grands would give to me!! I don't get to see them in person much and a family photo would warm my heart.

I don't need any gifts! Goodness knows, I need to donate a bunch of "stuff" and get it out of here!

I hope you get some GC so you can buy pet food for your strays.

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annzeepark914

annzeepark914

12 hours ago, kristen111 said:

No gifts for Adults this year, but do I listen?  I just have to get a little something for my adult kids, so I’m taking a nice picture of one daughters whole family at a college football game this year and having it blown up and put in a nice frame.  For the second daughter, I’ll do the same .. a picture of her family at DisneyWorld.  

These are great gifts!!  Very creative, and clever (to get around the "no gifts" requests). And these are nice memories for your daughters' families of fun times together.

  • Like 4
roseha

roseha

The whole Secret Santa brought back an old office memory to me.  A *long* time ago I was working as a legal proofreader and we had a Secret Santa draw.  I was stiffed.  By a very gossipy typist.  The irony?  We had drawn each other.

I did get her something.   As far as I remember, that let to Secret Santa being discontinued there!

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)
7 hours ago, roseha said:

The whole Secret Santa brought back an old office memory to me.  A *long* time ago I was working as a legal proofreader and we had a Secret Santa draw.  I was stiffed.  By a very gossipy typist.  The irony?  We had drawn each other.

I did get her something.   As far as I remember, that let to Secret Santa being discontinued there!

Turning 70 my memory is just too full to be of optimal use.
Without trying to do so, I seem to have forgotten all of the evil boss moments. 
It's wonderful. 
And doing the "forgetting" part of "forgive and forget" is certainly not something I could have ever consciously chosen to do and succeeded in doing. 

 

 

 

20 hours ago, kristen111 said:

No gifts for Adults this year, but do I listen?  I just have to get a little something for my adult kids, so I’m taking a nice picture of one daughters whole family at a college football game this year and having it blown up and put in a nice frame.  For the second daughter, I’ll do the same .. a picture of her family at DisneyWorld.  For my Son, I don’t know yet.  I talk bullshit, then cave in the end.  Buying presents give me anxiety.  I had enough anxiety this year.

I was thinking donating to a worthy cause in the name of the no-gifters would be good, but there's always the possibility they won't approved of giving money to the charity (there's a lot of grift that can happen). 

Edited by shapeshifter
  • Like 7
Bastet

Bastet

(edited)
On 12/8/2023 at 7:51 PM, roseha said:

A *long* time ago I was working as a legal proofreader and we had a Secret Santa draw.  I was stiffed.

Wow, how rude.  I don't think I've ever heard of that happening before.  I can understand not wanting to participate, but that means don't participate at all -- don't pull a name, and, most of all, make sure your name isn't in there to be pulled.

My first experience with a Secret Santa exchange in the office was the job I took after graduating college -- our boss had the five of us in the department draw names, hers not included, and then at our holiday lunch when we did the exchanging, she gave us all gifts (different for each of us, tailored to our likes).  It was really nice.  And the company-wide holiday parties were epic, with great food and drinks (and cab vouchers, of course), entertainment, and seriously pricey prizes to be won.  I'd be stunned if they still do anything that grand, but the economy allowed for it back then.

We don't do any sort of structured gift exchange at my current organization (I always give our paralegal and assistant something, and I'm sure most if not all of the other attorneys do, too), and we don't do a typical office party -- on our last day of work for the year (we're off Christmas Eve through New Year's Day), we go out for an early dinner, at a different restaurant each year (thankfully, voting on which one is not a mess).  That works for me.

Edited by Bastet
  • Like 13
annzeepark914

annzeepark914

I never heard of Dirty Santa.  The name sure doesn't sound nice.  One of the members of my Thursday morning coffee group wanted to do one of those  white elephant gift things a few years ago (at our Xmas party).  She still talks about how no one had any desire to switch gifts or grab gifts.  We no longer exchange gifts...just bring goodies to eat.

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kristen111

kristen111

24 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

That's about how our tree is going to look. I'm done with wrapping so I just roll stuff in tissue and cram it into gift bags. It's just me and my husband. We ship a package to our son and DIL.

I hated wrapping gifts.  Paper, scissors, scotch tape, name tags.  Now I go to he dollar store, buy bags with name tags already on, tissue paper, easy breezy.  What picture of one daughters family to put in frame?  In front of son in laws FDNY engine, or In front of DisneyWorld?  I will enlarge.

 

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

6 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

I hated wrapping gifts.  Paper, scissors, scotch tape, name tags.  Now I go to he dollar store, buy bags with name tags already on, tissue paper, easy breezy.  What picture of one daughters family to put in frame?  In front of son in laws FDNY engine, or In front of DisneyWorld?  I will enlarge.

 

Oh, I think the fie engine one would be cool!

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ECM1231

ECM1231

39 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Oh, I think the fie engine one would be cool!

Agreed!

My son and DIL enlarged a photo of my husband and me which was taken when the 4 of us were out to dinner earlier this year. It's not framed, but rather the photo is on the canvas itself. Only problem is that I hate it. I loathe seeing myself in photos. And it's not a particularly good photo of me. So, I thanked them ( it was mailed), and hid it away. Unfortunately, my son saw it in its hiding spot and wondered why I never hung it. I told him the truth. It was a 40th wedding anniversary gift, and I did feel bad that good money was spent , but not enough to display it.

 

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Mod-Tigerkatze
Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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