Today was our holiday party at the COG, replete with gift exchange. Below is an excerpt from the event appointment.
Please join us to celebrate the holidays SACOG-style with a potluck and "white elephant" gift exchange. A sign-up sheet for the potluck will be placed at the reception desk the first of December. ...We've modified the gift exchange from previous years with the hope that people will bring a gift that others might actually want and enjoy. For years, we had a white elephant gag gift, but we discontinued that tradition after people got tired of receiving the same old bad stuff every year. A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't enjoy receiving it, then it's likely no one else would, either.Well, that is fair. Except...if we're not supposed to bring white elephant gift, why is it still called a white elephant gift party? I know I'm arguing semantics here, but it makes me snort each time I think of it. This prompted me to augment my original gift selection.
Behold, the White Elephant power pack!
I guess it is misleading. If you look at this for a split second, you are most likely to notice the Hello Dolly album and little else. However, when you remind yourself that we don't live in a flip book, you notice the Ginger Elizabeth bittersweet candied almonds and the (damn nice, if I do say so myself) tote bag. And the burned ELO CD is just icing on the freakin' cake.
You might have guessed this by now, but the person who did receive this gift disregarded everything but the Hello Dolly, so the legitimate gift of candy and a tote was lost...forever. He pawned all of the items off (minus the album, which he wanted to see if he could sell--ill-advised plan of action) on another co-worker.
I'm too sensitive for gift exchanges when there are handmade items on the line, as well as chocolate that I swear by. That was a damn nice tote--I finished all the edges (for once) and I think the color pairing is wonderful, if not a touch springy.
And Hello Dolly is WONDERFUL!
No comments:
Post a Comment