My Secret Santas

I participate in one of those "secret Santa" gift exchanges at my work. On our team of about a dozen folk, we each buy a small gift for everyone else. It helps to make the holidays a bit more fun and I enjoy the excitement of coming to work to find a couple wrapped presents on my desk.

So far this year, this is what I've got:

--A box of chocolate caramels. This one was re-gifted, but unfortunately not before I ate the top layer.

--A cannister of Macadanium caramel clusters. Re-gifted also after I calculated that there were 2,900 calories in that 20-ounce container. (The label boasted that these were made with "real butter.") But again too late, since I had already the top layer and then some.

--A tiny Norfolk Island Pine tree with tiny Christmas ornaments. The label says "enjoys being placed near a window." Does that mean it's going to sing or something?

--A Paula Deen cookbook. Paula Deen is from Savannah, Georgia, and two members of our team, including myself, journeyed to Savannah this past year. So it would seem to be a good clue that the book came from one of us. But it didn't. Somebody is just being a clever Secret Santa.

--A holiday gift towel and oven mitt. Big clue. No guy would give this.

--A contractor energizer area light. Another big clue. No woman would give this.

--A cellophane-wrapped package of some home baked cookies. There weren't that many. I didn't have to re-gift those.

--A travel manicure set. At first I thought that I'd have to pass that along to the missus, but then I noticed on the package it said "for him." The women's manicure sets said "for her." A manicure for men? I dunno about that. Doesn't sound macho.

--A cozy-up plug-in warmer--"the electric alternative to lighting a candle." So you can place a scented candle on his warmer and enjoy the aroma without the fire hazard and waxy mess. Except the only time we light candles in our house is when the power goes out. Can't wait to try it, though.

There were a few other items too--some Christmas decorations, Christmas crafts, and an instant lottery ticket. I didn't win. But I was pleased with all my gifts. They all reflected thought and sincerity on behalf of the Secret Santa. The only thing I missed were those little peppermint candy candy canes that we often got as an "extra." A nice little treat to cool your palate over the course of a long work day.

I won't tell you which gift was mine because I'm not 100 percent sure that none of my work colleagues read my blog. (I've never told any of them I have one, but you never know).

One year, I thought I would be possibly one of the most generous Secret Santas there ever was. I bought a lottery ticket to one of those mega-million jackpots. But somebody asked before I gave it, "What if they win?" Hmmmmm.

So I bought 'lottery insurance.' I wrote the same set of numbers twice, so that if my giftee won, me the gifter would win too. Except that I wrote the same number twice on the lottery ticket order form at the lotto counter. So when they ran it through the machine, I received ONE ticket with the same set of numbers twice, one right under the other. So I had to purchase one more. [Wendy's comment here: "Another Dave number"]