“I’m Not Doing Secret Santa Ever Again”: 20 People Share The Worst Gifts They Received

To learn more about how it feels to receive a lackluster Secret Santa gift, we reached out to TikToker Raeshorn Creque, who recently shared his disappointing present online and was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. Raeshorn said he was inspired to post a video about his experience because he knew his audience would be amused by the clear lack of effort put into his gift.

For some reason, Raeshorn's Secret Santa gave him a half-eaten box of Pop-Tarts, used cologne, a Roku remote and a sauce packet. But thankfully, he said this is the first time he's had a bad experience with Secret Santa. "I enjoy Secret Santa! It's very exciting knowing someone who may or may not know you can you get something that can one day forever be a treasure in your heart," the TikToker shared. 

Raeshorn also shared that he went all out purchasing his present for someone else. "I ended up spending around $100-$150 on a gift for my person because I knew them personally and knew what they really wanted to do with their life," he explained. "I gifted him a tripod that moves, a microphone for his phone, Dior Sauvage cologne and a gold chain. I know he likes to smell and look good while also wanting to become an influencer."

And as far as preventing himself from receiving bad gifts in the future, Raeshorn says he doesn't believe it's possible unless he were to simply change who he was playing with. But he told Bored Panda that he's still a fan of the game. "Secret Santa is a game for families to come together and show their creativity, and that’s what I love most about it!"

The first time I ever participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange was my freshman year of high school. I was absolutely thrilled and spent so much time and effort planning the perfect gift for my person. I created a shirt online for her, ordered it and ensured that it would be delivered in time for our Christmas party. I knew she would love it.

But what I didn’t think about until the day of was the fact that I would be getting a gift too. Well, in theory. The person who picked me conveniently didn’t show up for class that day, and when he appeared the next day, he handed me a box of chocolates. That’s it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate. But it was obvious what had happened there. 

Despite having a disappointing first experience with Secret Santa, I was not deterred from participating again in the future. In fact, I think I’ve participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange nearly every year since. And because I love getting presents for others and spreading some Christmas joy, I’m always happy to participate. But after seeing the photos on this list, I can understand why not everyone is eager to hop on the Secret Santa train.

According to the University of Technology Sydney, if your office has 20 employees who wish to participate in Secret Santa festivities, there are about 895 quadrillion possible combinations of who will choose who (while still ensuring that no one has to purchase their own present). But as it seems from this list, there’s probably a 1 in 20-ish chance that you’ll receive a present you hate.