Dirty Santa Gift

My church group had a Dirty Santa party where you are required to bring a cheap wrapped git, but not spend any money on it. If you don't know, a dirty Santa Party is where you take turns opening packages or when its your turn, you can steal someone elses gift. If a gift is stolen 3 times it is "locked" and no one else can steal it. This party required the gift be something you already have lying around the house, thats worth nothing or up to ten dollars at the max. It was a party of about 30 people of adults and kids of all ages and I had no idea what to bring. I found a 5 or 6 year old slightly scratched, Element 3x AAA 3 watt LED flashlight I had bought from Sams Wholesale for about 14 bucks, but I was a bit nervous that it would be a gift no one would like. Everyone started opening gifts and about half the people broke the rules and had bought a new CD or DVD or Mary Kay cosmetics, or a 10 dollar gift card. The flashlight was one of the last gifts opened but it was instantly "stolen" 3 times by three youg boys. Several men were wanting it, and I heard one woman saying to her husband" we need a good flashlight". It was the first gift "locked" and an 8 year old boy ended up with it. Many kept wanting the light and kept asking if the flashlight was "locked", and after the party was over our pastor persuaded the little boy to trade a 10 dollar gift card for the flashlight. He made the trade, but about 10 minutes later the boy was nearly crying and wanted to trade back for the flashlight... and the pastor reluctantly, traded it back to him.

I guess the 3 AAA Element light was a lot more desireable than I thought!

Nice story and you bring up an interesting point... The majority of "non-flashaholics" don't have anywhere near an adequate supply of lights. In fact, most of my college friends don't even have a single light in their dorms... and the power has gone out twice.

Glad the pastor gave the light back to the boy at the end... he could be the next great modder... or the next guy to buy a 60" search light when he grows up... you never know

Our pastor told me later he "loved flashlights" and hated to give it back. So, I think I'll give him my Romisen RC-G2 as its smaller and brighter than the Element light. Apparently he had a flashlight and lost it and currently doesn't own one, and he won't spend any money unless he has to.

So that begs the question, if your pastor did not trade back the flashlight, would that make him a "Lumen-naughty?!" LOL

I'll bet your pastor has a nasty old Solitaire in his pocket. I'd be tempted to get 4Sevens to send him a nice E01 for Christmas/New Years.

Geoff

Great story farmer17, thanks for sharing it, and if it's not too late - Welcome To CPF. The story bolsters my belief that many people would want a decent light, but they don't realize it yet. Sounds like giving your pastor the RC-G2 would be a great idea!

Nice story. I think LED_Thrift is right too: Most people have a yearning for "the light" but don't implement it

Flying Turtle said:

I'll bet your pastor has a nasty old Solitaire in his pocket. I'd be tempted to get 4Sevens to send him a nice E01 for Christmas/New Years.

Geoff

Click to expand...

Do you want to hear something weird my dads a preacher and he carries a solitaire. He needed a light to see to use his keys in the church parking lot so I gave him one as an early Christmas present this year. Also its the metallic grey colour one. I think next year I'm going to get him a Photon Freedom Micro (if possible the freedom of religion one).

I went to one of these and brought a toilet seat.

It actually made it into the hands of a lady who said her's was broken.

Sgt. LED said:

I went to one of these and brought a toilet seat.

It actually made it into the hands of a lady who said her's was broken.

Click to expand...

Wow, that's a first

I'm going to one tonight so I will have to let you know what i get :laughing:

We do this at our annual Xmas party. This year the hit of the party was a "Mr. T in Your Pocket"

http://www.80stees.com/products/Mr-T-Pocket-Keychain.asp

It is a blast to use on telemarketers

I was walking through Walmart today and decided it would only be appropriate to gift a light for the party... I chose one of the Coleman 3 AAA ones as there was a $15 price cap and well...

Now it's just a matter of finding out what I receive naughty: at the toilet seat idea... I was seriously considering that :thumbsup

Sounds like a White Elephant or gag gift exchange. My church had one of those last week. We didn't have any rules against buying the presents though. I gave a book about how to identify animal feces called "What Shat That?". My brother gave a book called "How to Cook Everything" along with a brick and an eraser. If you want to give a flashlight as a gag gift, how about a solar powered flashlight? Those parties are really fun until someone gives you real poop or a dirty diaper (and wafts it in your face). You never know what crazy things people will bring to one of those parties.

Here are some of the interesting things people have brought to past gag gift exchanges: a road cone, live crickets (no longer allowed), plastic poop, a book about how to poop in the woods, the official fart chart t-shirt, a case of monster energy drinks with all the liquid drilled out through the bottom of the cans, candy that looks like dentures, animal candy dispensers that poop out the candy after winding them, a white elephant doll, a suction cup mounted doll that moons you when you pull a string, a can opener with a can of dog food and a spoon, diapers, t.p., a remote controlled fart machine (I had the clicker and the people near the tree ended up opening a window), Harry Potter Jelly Beans (I couldn't stop laughing after someone ate one that tasted like chalk), a hollow plastic candy cane filled with rocks and one hard mint candy at the bottom, a can of beans and a bottle of gas treatment (for cars).

farmer17 said:

After the party was over our pastor persuaded the little boy to trade a 10 dollar gift card for the flashlight. He made the trade, but about 10 minutes later the boy was nearly crying and wanted to trade back for the flashlight...

Click to expand...

I've heard of pastors fleecing their flock, but an eight year old little boy? Unconscionable!

No way he would have got that light from MY eight year old hands. (Flashlights were hard to come by back then!)

Shoulda given a shakelight