Office Yankee Swap !

Have you seen The Office on NBC? Very funny show! It's not quite as good as the original British version that runs on the BBC channel - but it's funny nonetheless. Anyway - on their Christmas episode last week, the people in The Office participated in a "yankee swap". Any baseball fans reading this may be inclined to think a yankee swap is when George Steinbrenner trades away young prospects for aging stars...but that's not what we're talking about here. In case you don't know, a yankee swap is a way of exchanging gifts when there are many people involved...like in an office or a very large family. It's basically a more fun (and mean-spirited!) alternative to the stale pollyanna. The crew here at WAYV along with our sister stations will be having our yankee swap here in the office tomorrow. I hope I get something good!

If you're new to the yankee swap, here's a quick rundown of how it works. Maybe you'll use it in your workplace.

1. Everyone brings an unlabeled wrapped gift (agreed upon dollar amount).
2. Everyone gets a randomly drawn number.
3. The person with the lowest number goes first. He or she picks a present, opens it, and hangs onto it.
4. Each person in order then gets to pick a present, open it, and decide whether to keep it or swap it for another present that's already been opened.
5. Opening and swapping continues until all presents have been opened.
6. The person who went first also gets to go last - so they get to pick from ALL the gifts.

It must be stated that the yankee swap is not exactly representative of the Christmas spirit. After all, instead of giving gifts to others, you're basically TAKING gifts from others! There have been many arguments and fights resulting from yankee swaps - so beware! In fact, there was such a yankee swap controversy in my wife's family a couple of years ago that one of the family members now refuses to participate. So remember it's supposed to be all in good fun - and don't be too disappointed when the gift you'd like to keep gets "yanked" and swapped for a potholder!

Merry Christmas!