"Right guys, secret santa time." Sandra smiled cheerily as for the first time since her childhood she felt Christmassy.
"I've cut some paper and put one of our names on each. Here Gerry pass me that mug." Brian told them. Gerry brought the mug over and passed it to Brian so he could put the slips of paper inside it.
"Before you all pick there are rules. Maximum spend of £20 and nothing dodgy and Gerry that applies to you too!"
Having no each got a name and having been told they'd swap presents on Christmas day when they met up for Christmas dinner, they set about shopping.
Sandra knew exactly what to get for the person whose name she'd pulled out of the mug. She stretched out on the sofa and grabbed the laptop as she did. Loading up the website which she'd been on a few times when it came to birthdays, it didn't take her long to find the shop on the newly redone website. For a while she flicked through everything the shop had to offer before she lay eyes on exactly the thing she'd hoped to find. The mouse hovered over the buy button and Sandra smiled as it came to exactly £20 including the postage. Not only was she now sorted with the new team scarf but also a hat, but she'd managed to stick with all of the rules.
Brian was also fairly organised and went shopping with Esther the very next day in search of the present for the person whose name he'd picked. Esther had come along to help but also to make sure that Brian stayed calm as he usually hated shopping. Neither of them had any idea of what to buy so instead of the usual organised shopping trip they found themselves sauntering around shops. It was in the third shop they went to that they found what they eventually bought. Brian had never really been too focused on other peoples likes or dislikes so they settles on a general gift which came to £17.99 so he had also kept to all of the rules.
As for Steve and Gerry they seemed to have forgotten all about it until Christmas eve.
For Steve the biggest problem was battling busy shops. He fought his was down the aisle that he needed and soon found exactly what he'd wanted to buy. The thing he'd bought wasn't exactly a serious present but at least it wasn't what Sandra would call dodgy. £22 later, because he'd needed wrapping paper and cellotape, he was now done with this whole secret santa thing and once he'd wrapped it he'd be ready to give it the following day.
Gerry on the other hand was struggling to find what he was looking for. He'd spent so long planning the perfect present that he was now finding it near impossible to actually get it. Since pulling the name he'd hoped for out of the mug, he'd been determined to get something that he knew they'd love. Even thinking about the smiles that he knew it'd bring to that person the next day made him smile and kept him determined to find what he needed no matter how long it took. For Gerry, Christmas was definitely about the giving. 3 hours later he finally came across the object that was so important and bought it, ignoring the fact that it was nearly £30. Although he'd not kept the price rule there was no way that it was dodgy and he couldn't be expected to keep to all of the rules.