This year I'm hoping to gracefully opt out of exchanging joke Christmas presents at my workplace. I dislike this little event --the original intent was to wrap something you didn't want and people draw numbers from a hat to choose wrapped up gifts.

Now it's morphed into a peer pressure oriented event of gift exchange to get a gift that is 'cool" or extra nice.

Last year, a lot of the "joke" presents ....were in my mind, expensive..wine, beer. We are told to spend no more than $20.00CAN.
I'm sorry....this is a waste of my own money for people who I don't know well at all. Yes, I work with them, they are mostly nice but they aren't people who I love.

I'd rather just have a box of chocolates nearby and people can come by to help themselves.

Oh yea and our staff Christmas luncheon was at the same old restaurant for the last 3 years: a BBQ place with fattening ribs/burgers, some lovely steaks and deep fried pickles. Seriously we work downtown in a city of over 1 million people..... we're not in a rural area/industrial park.