Woman bans coworker from Secret Santa after unexpected employee showdown over gift exchange rules: 'You either play or you don't'

Office Secret Santas are one of those things that sound way more wholesome in theory than they often turn out to be in practice. At their best, they're a cute way to spread a little holiday cheer and laugh over who got a regifted pair of socks from last year. At their worst, they can really devolve into totally unecessary office drama due to debates about fairness.

I've definitely worked places where people took it way too seriously (spreadsheets, budgets, gift guidelines) in an attempt to make sure that everything was fair and square, and yet, someone always wanted to bend the rules "just a little." Usually it's the kind of small thing that shouldn't cause any trouble … and yet somehow does. In this story, one well-meaning coworker's attempt to give without receiving throws the whole Secret Santa system into question. His plight is understandable; he doesn't want to receive a gift because his house already has too much clutter, but he does want to get a gift for someone else. We love a minimalist king, but it does mess up the flow.

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WIBTAH if I tell my coworker he can't participate in Secret Santa due to his conditions?

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I do think that our narrator is being a bit stiff for no reason. Well, honestly, they both are! He could just regift whatever he receives. Also, it's kind of weird that anything someone would get him is just clutter, but somehow his sensibilities and gift-giving abilities are so much better than everyone else's that his present could never amount to clutter.
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