Dilemma Exchange
I'm sure a lot of people who work in an office setting run into the same dilemma each and every December, whether or not to participate in the annual Christmas party/gift exchange/karaoke sing along. It's always hard to assess the risk associated with boycotting the aspects of the entire affair that seem to be either wasteful or unappealing. How will one be perceived if one does one, the other, or both? In all likelihood, it doesn't matter one iota whether or not you choose to participate in these events, and that goes double for people who are lower in the hierarchy of the dreaded pay scale. But the issue really isn't whether or not one can afford to participate, and I'll admit freely that the money is not the issue. Well, it is, but not in the sense that I can't afford to part with it. The issue is, at least what I perceive to be, the notion that it's a waste of money and not in fact a real gift.

If you think about it, when one is approached with the offer to participate in these types of events, it is done is such a generic manner that it's almost impossible to assume the guise of someone who is really gung-ho about the prospect of buying an unspecified gift for a particular amount for an anonymous person. Isn't it hard enough to buy presents for people you do know, like your family? How can you purchase anything that will make you feel as if it's a really good gift if it's just something chosen because it fits into the price parameters? It's not as if you're buying something that you think the recipient will enjoy because you know their tastes, likes and dislikes. That's at least somewhat intriguing, but the random, anonymous gift is more of a headache than anything else. This is what I think of when overactive spending during the holidays is mentioned.

What compounds the absurdity even further is if the institution in which you work has several separate parties with the same format. If one were so inclined, you could attend more than one of these events and relive the awkward experience over again. How fun does that sound?

It's not as if this is even earthshatteringly important, but it's something that I see as putting somewhat of a damper on the holidays even though it's supposed to be part of them.