Employee Says There Was Office Holiday Party Drama After Husband 'Stole' 10-Year-Old’s White Elephant Gift
The gift’s “a little tainted by guilt,” the employee wrote in a Reddit post
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Office Holiday PartyAn holiday office party game of white elephant became uncomfortable when an employee’s husband stole a 10-year-old’s gift — eventually bringing the kid to tears.
In an "Am I the A------" Reddit post, an employee explained that there was a holiday party last week for employees and their spouses. Though bringing children was “not specifically discouraged,” the employee wrote that “it was clear that people were not bringing kids.”
Alas, one of employee didn't get the memo and did bring his 10-year-old daughter, making her the only child in attendance.
During the party, attendees gathered for a “lighthearted” white elephant gift exchange — where each person brings a wrapped gift, and players choose gifts in order, with the option to “steal” an already-unwrapped gift or pick a new one from the pile, the Redditor wrote.
Early in the game, a player unwrapped a wooden dragon, which piqued the interest of the Redditor's husband, who was described as a longtime lover of the mystical beast (and the popular game Dungeons & Dragons.)
“This was right up his alley,” the Redditor wrote. “We had both already taken our turns, but agreed that if either of our gifts were stolen we would go straight for that.”
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However, when it was the child's turn, she went straight for the dragon, the Redditor wrote. This wrinkle presented a moral dilemma for the couple. Though it was technically fair to steal the dragon, they had to decide if they were okay with taking the gift from a kid.
“Several rounds went by and we debated whether it would be alright,” the Redditor wrote. “We ended up undecided, but leaning toward that it was all a game, especially since the kid had stolen the item from someone else.”
A bit later in the game, the husband’s gift was stolen, and he nabbed the dragon — making a joke about “being the Grinch” to lighten the blow.
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“The kid seemed disappointed, but picked another gift and the game went on,” the Redditor wrote. “She ended up with a remote control Harry Potter wand that was actually pretty cool.”
But after the exchange was over, the kid approached the Redditor's husband, asking if he would want to trade gifts. “He said kindly but firmly that he was happy with his item and wanted to keep it,” the Redditor wrote.
Later in the evening, however, the Redditor found the young girl crying in the office bathroom. Evidently overwhelmed by remorse, the couple approached the child’s father, offering up the dragon, but the father declined, saying that it was “a good lesson for her."
While the Redditor's husband left the office party dragon in tow, for the couple, the gift ended up being “a little tainted by guilt."
As for the rest of the office? The opinion was split.
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“Many people said that he should never have even considered stealing the item from her because she’s a kid and might not have fully understood the game,” the Redditor wrote. “But the more I think about it, the more I feel like she shouldn’t really have been at the party in the first place, and her father shouldn’t have allowed her to participate in the game if she couldn’t understand the possibility of an item getting stolen.”
The Redditor concluded her post with a call to the comment section: “I genuinely want to know, are we the a------s?”
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Many commenters agreed with original poster, arguing that the kid should not have been at the party to begin with — and therefore shouldn’t have been part of the game.
“Part of the fun is being ruthless with ‘gift stealing’ and having upset children in the mix really takes the fun out of it quickly,” read one reply.
Added another commenter: “In my experience there are company parties that are for the whole family, and parties that are just for employees and their partners. This sounds like a party where kids were not invited.”
Others commended the young girl’s father for helping her learn a lesson — even if it was hard in the moment, while yet another commenter lambasted white elephant altogether, writing, “It is a very sadistic game, especially with kids involved.”
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