Good morning and welcome back to the Breakroom! We are only 6-days away from Christmas and (for those who celebrate) there is a strong chance you may have forgotten a present and need to do some last minute shopping. Often forgotten is your office Secret Santa, what are you supposed to buy for a coworker?
I wanted to give some good options for gifts and I thought there was no better way than to look into the gifts given out at Dunder Mifflin over the years and pick some of my favorites. I decided to lean in on those I consider good gifts but if I do not include something that you thought was a good idea, let me know!
Teapot
Perhaps one of the most iconic gifts is the teapot given by Jim to Pam filled to the brim with personal mementos (and a mysterious letter). Maybe you are not trying to profess your love to someone, but I’m sure you know someone who loves tea and would go crazy to have a teapot at home or around the office.
Baby Jazz Poster
While this might not be everyone’s taste, this was given to Angela who specifically loves this type of artwork. While you may not know someone who is crazy for baby jazz players, this would be a great gift for anyone who loves the office.
Comfy Robe
Season 3 we see the company gift (a robe) gets taken away from Toby by Dwight, but Pam ultimately gets him one. I once got a friend a robe years back and she continues to adore it to this day. Over the years I have leaned more into gifts that are consumables or simply will be used quite often because then they become part of their everyday.
Nutcracker
While the nutcracker Michael got Dwight is a unique piece, it doesn’t mean you cannot get someone a real one. While I do think this is an odd gift, I feel it is a unique one because I do not believe it is something a person would often buy themselves. And I can imagine at least one person out there would open this up and, if there was no description of what it was, they may start make list of possibilities like Dwight did.
Homemade Gift
I love how Phyllis and Ryan made fun of Pam’s gift of a comic book because most people I know would go crazy if someone created a unique comic for them. If I had any artistic abilities in me I would certainly consider doing this. Instead I have gotten into the habit of baking dozens of cookies and giving cookie assortments out as gifts. Not everyone bakes cookies at Christmas so it is my way of ensuring they have a fun snack that evening. And I enjoy all of the leftovers, too.
Cookie Jar (with cookies)
Kevin received a cookie jar in a later season and loved it, pry because it also came with cookies. This is another item that I feel people would absolutely use but likely is not bought too often for themselves. I have one jar that I love that looks like French macarons stacked together. I recall a Christmas party with friends and we did a White Elephant game and the popular gift was an adorable unicorn cookie jar. So try to tailor it to their tastes, besides being utilitarian it is also decor so make sure it something they would want to look at all year round. And then toss in a few of your cookies so they get an added gift.
Board Game
Now I am going into my own personal recommendations. Board and card games are always popular and I think everyone should have a collection they can break out. This particular game (Azul) was one a friend taught us to play and while initially confusing, once I read the rules I found it was pretty simple and fun. And I’m a sucker for a game with pretty tiles so this is just one example!
Cooking Tools
If you have someone who likes to cook, why not get them something cool for their kitchen! Fancy spices and oils are great options if you do not know what they need because this way they can experiment. Otherwise two of my favorite Christmas gifts I’ve gotten have been a French rolling pin (featured above) as well as a Dutch oven (might be more extravagant than what you need for the office).
Giant Mug aka “Coffee Bowl”
Okay I have now moved into Gilmore Girls territory but this can certainly translate to the office. I am a sucker for a giant mug, if it isn’t at least 20oz what even is the point? My next goal is one that is so large it is essentially a bowl and it will allow me to drink almost half a pot coffee in a one sitting. We all know at least one person who needs a hot drink all day long and this will be the beast that holds it.
Cozy Blanket
When in doubt, it is hard to go wrong with a blanket. Now my sister once complained that people kept getting her blankets and I have to say, you can never have too many. You want backups for when they get dirty, maybe ruined and need to be thrown away, have them placed around the house, your pets can get their own, or just need to be extra toasty. My husband actually crocheted a blanket for his Secret Santa this year but there is no harm is buying one for someone.
There are 10 perfect examples for some Secret Santa gifts. Let me know if you have your own tips that you want to pass along. I told you what to buy, I skipped right over a “do not buy” list so if you have some cautionary tales feel free to share as well.
Be on the look out this next week as I want to get one more post out before we are out for Christmas. Since I cannot have a cookie exchange with all of you, I want to include you in on what cookies I’ll be baking this year! I’ll be doing my baking on Monday so look for my personal list, and I expect to get some good recipes in exchange so I can start planning for next year (or I can try them out over the weekend).
Until next week, I’ll see you all around the Breakroom!
