by Gilson Penny

Created on: December 04, 2008

Secret Santa office gifts are a minefield of office politics. For every Secret Santa, there's a department of Secret Sleuths revealing givers' identities, and Secret Judges solidifying their opinions of the Santas.

Whether your company's culture is hip or old-school, office politics lurks in the subconscious of coworkers, superiors, and staffers. Everyone is spilling the beans about gifting, figuring out who the gifts came from, and secretly judging the giver, consciously or subliminally.

How to choose the best gift for such a momentous occasion? These events limit spending from $5 to $20. Going over the specified amount, you risk being a toady, or blindly opportunistic. Going under the amount, you risk being a cheapskate.

Think about your selection in terms of Judicial results. In terms of how your peers rate your gifting style. The three main style categories are Unique/Creative, Safe/Predictable, and Risky/Over-the-Top. Which best describes you, and how you want to be perceived in the office?

Unique and Creative:

For your recipient to feel special, that they received the coolest gift, or if the gift wasn't perfect but it has quality re-gifting potential, give Art. Yes, re-gifting is a reality. And a gift of Art not only shows creativity and effort, but it has utility - in that if the recipient doesn't love the gift, it may get them out of a bind with a different Secret Santa problem, or with an in-law. Art is not gender specific, resolving the biggest problem of the dilemma.

How to buy Art for less than $10? It's simple: ACEOs. ACEO is an acronym for Art Cards, Editions & Originals. An alternative term is ATC, Artist Trading Card. ACEO's are individual art miniatures, the size of a baseball card (2.5" x 3.5"). Sources have credited M. Vni Stirnemann, who began trading sessions in Zurich, Switzerland in 1997, as popularizing ATCs, although modern
ATC's can be traced back to portrait miniatures with Impressionistic era artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

ACEOs range from $5 to $100, but most are in the $10 range. Laser prints of art photography or paintings generally cost between $5 -$8, whereas many original artworks in watercolor, acrylic on canvas, mini-quilts, fiber art collage, or steampunk/vintage collage are easily found in the $8-$15 range. It's important to clarify in your search whether you're buying Prints (mini-photos of artwork) or Originals (actual art - watercolor, art on canvas, miniature art quilts, original collage in fiber or metal art,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>