A woman revealed that she made a complaint to HR after receiving a 'baffling' Secret Santa gift from an anonymous co-worker.
Taking part in your work's annual secret Santa can be a real hit or miss depending on who pulls your name out of the hat.
Maybe you'll get a gift from a colleague who knows you really well and is able to get you something that is both thoughtful and in-budget. Or maybe you'll get a generic bottle of alcohol, or socks. You just never know.
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Either way, it's meant to be the thought that counts.
However, this saying only goes so far, as one woman received a gift so 'baffling' that she ended up reporting the whole situation to HR.
So what sort of gift could be so 'disgusting' that it warrants a trip to speak to human resources? Something completely offensive or inappropriate?
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Turns out it was something even more strange.
Unsure if she was being ungrateful or had a valid point with her reaction, the woman sought a second opinion from the internet.
Taking to the online forum Mumsnet, the woman shared images of each of the gifts she received alongside the comment: "Got my secret Santa today from work and tbh I'm disgusted by it."
The woman went on to explain how her gifts included chocolates which were out-of-date, 'manky old nail varnish' and socks which appeared 'worn'.
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"I'm really disappointed by it and tbh extremely confused," she added.
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The woman wasn't alone in her reaction either, with users overwhelmingly agreeing that it was unacceptable to gift a colleague used and out-of-date items.
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Which to be fair, the gift is so bizarre that it feels like a wind-up or part of an elaborate practical joke.
"Blimey! What did other lucky employees get... or do you think someone's trying to tell you something," one person replied, while a second commented: "I think it’s crap they’ve found in their cupboard. Perhaps they forgot to buy anything and had to scramble around for something at the last minute. Pretty poor effort."
Others speculated whether or not the gifter could be someone who was struggling for money, with one person writing: "I highly doubt someone opted to do this rather than spending a fiver in the shops."
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Practical joke or serious present aside, the original poster revealed later in the thread that she had spoken to HR about the gift.
"Management know and are just as disgusted. I would genuinely rather have had a cheap bar or chocolate than this," she replied to one post.
Brenna Cooper