The iCarol Secret Santa Gift Exchange
Regardless of which of the season’s holidays you may celebrate, or even if you celebrate none at all, we hope you were able to enjoy some quality time with family and friends, listen to festive music, and partake in lots of yummy food and beverages. And, if you were really lucky, maybe you even scored some good presents, too!
One of the time-honored traditions of Christmastime is the Secret Santa gift exchange, and this year our team took part in that, in spite of the physical distance between us, and being unable to do some of the other traditional holiday activities like having an office party. We wanted to share the fun with you guys.
Crystal gifted Mary with some beautiful decorations for her work space, all holding special meaning. Mary says:
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“The tree statue is especially special because it combines 3 of my favorite things: green (my favorite color), nature, and stones/minerals – something only a Secret Santa would know. These gifts are so “me” and I couldn’t be more thankful!”
All Donna wanted for Christmas was world peace and a nice glass of wine. Her Secret Santa, Mary, delivered — a lovely peace-oriented ornament and some cute snowmen to decorate wine glasses.
Donna played Santa to Carmen with a gift of cupcakes. Carmen says:
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“Back when I started at iCarol, I told Donna about the various staff meetings I participated in at my old employer, Distress Centre Calgary. Snacks were almost always provided, and the snack that was always a particular hit were cupcakes from Crave, a gourmet cupcake store here in Calgary. From that point forward, mentioning cupcakes at iCarol staff meetings became a thing, with some discussion of how we might deliver cupcakes to everyone scattered over North America for our virtual staff meetings. So, the fact that Donna remembered this and sent such a gift was extremely thoughtful. Thank you Donna, they were delicious! (I think I need to go buy more…)”
Carmen surprised her recipient, Polly, with a beautiful handcrafted paintbrush holder for her art supplies, which Polly loved. And it came not a moment too soon, as Polly was considering making something just like this for herself!
Dana is an avid bird watcher and has an extensive collection of owl items. She’s also a coffee enthusiast. Christa produced a perfect pair of gifts for Dana — a funny owl coffee mug, and an adult coloring book full of owl drawings waiting to be filled in with bright colors. Dana put the coffee mug to use almost immediately after she received it!
Dana was Diana’s Secret Santa. Being a lover of both caffeine and “The Golden Girls,” Diana received a sampling of various teas, and a Golden Girls-themed mug to enjoy them with.
Wendy’s Secret Santa was Eliisa. Wendy says:
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“I got my Secret Santa from Eliisa and it is awesome. These are 2 new dish towels that are super fun and a great design that I have not seen. I love gifts that are functional and fun. It was just great to receive a gift from further away from a colleague for Christmas.”
Rachel and Wendy played Secret Santa for Neil and Jackie. A big baseball fan, Rachel gifted Neil with the book “Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend.” Wendy sent Jackie something that would remind her of the great white north and her Canadian roots — a pair of bear claw salad tongs!
We hope you enjoyed some holiday fun and perhaps an office party or Secret Santa exchange of your own. We’d love to share in the fun you had, please Tweet us your helpline’s holiday fun or leave a comment below!
