I remember doing Secret Santa with a class with very mixed backgrounds. We had a pretty low cash limit, so I thought I'd buy a pretty tin, write a nice card, and baked a huge variety of cookies that I decorated and crammed in there, as many as could possibly fit.

It was rather obvious I spent hours upon hours in the kitchen, but I assumed that some ungrateful bastard who only ever bought discount cookies and gifted someone else a single cigarette would get them. But I organised the game, it took a lot of effort to get these lazy bums even slightly organised, and despite ensuring me that they'd all bring their gifts and me reminding them a thousand times, a few showed up without them anyways.

Well, the ungrateful bastard I picked out of the hat dropped out unofficially the day before, but since they'd done that the year before too, I was prepared. Since I knew who they'd picked, I had a backup card that I wrote, had a backup tin that matched the personality of their gift recipient better (and wasn't as christmas-y) and I whipped that backup present into shape so their recipient would be my recipient instead. I was organising this and I would NOT let anyone be giftless if I could help it.

The recipient I got instead was this very nice Muslim guy, and when he opened his package, and saw the dozens of tiny cookies, and the card, where I'd described each kind so he wouldn't go in blind and maybe eat something he hates, and where I wished him a nice winter break and some rest while he's off school, he suddenly got very quiet.

We didn't write our names on there, but people knew my handwriting and I assumed I'd fucked up.

Someone told me later he went outside to catch himself a little, because that was the first Christmas present he ever received, and he loved it so much. And he later thanked me, very sincerely, for all the effort and told me that he really liked the gift, and that it was his first Christmas present and it meant a lot to him.

That made all of the awful effort of people assuring me they're totally in for Secret Santa and then doing fuck all 100% worth it.

Also, I got a surprisingly nice gift from a guy I didn't expect it from at all. I still use those candle holders today.

I love this tradition a lot and will defend it to the end.