Since this is the time of year offices everywhere have parties with gift exchanges, I want to offer up an alternative idea.
Fed up with trying to find a nice, generic gift under our $5 limit (this was 20 years ago!) and then receiving something in exchange that was a total waste of said $5, I proposed the following:
Everyone in the office draws a co-worker's name. You go out and buy a toy you think in some way suits that person. The one who always brings the best dishes to the office potlucks might get a set of play food; the one excited about a new car could get a Hotwheels set; etc. Wrap the gift and put it under the tree. It's lots of fun to see what people receive. At the end of the night all the gifts are donated to a toy drive. No one has to waste money on a stupid tchochke or go home with useless unwanted clutter, yet the spirit of giving during the holidays has been maintained because of the thought that goes into the gifts and the good use they will be put to after the party.
Of course you could always buy a stuffed donkey for someone and protest "It's because he is a Democrat! Honest, I never thought of any other interpretation!" All in good fun and holiday cheer. Yes, that really happened. The next year the person who did that got a toy in the shape of Ursula the Sea Witch that everyone agreed looked just like her. In a show of good sportsmanship she kept the toy on her desk after that and purchased something else to be donated in stead.
