I started working in a new team this year and for the first time in my career I’ve been asked to participate in a Secret Santa.
Our price limit is modest, and my first thought was to get the person I drew a book – I know they love fiction. But my second thought was to paint something for them and frame it. I’m not a professional artist, but I love painting and feel this would be more meaningful than another kind of present.
I have a few worries. The first is that this will seem like a “cheap” or cheating option. The second is that it will come across as arrogant framing my own work. And the third is they won’t like my painting and I would have been better off buying a book. What would you do?
I think self-made gifts are the best gifts. I ask my kids to draw me pictures for my birthday rather than buy presents. I also have family members who knit and paint – I love the pressies I get from them. These kinds of gifts are wonderful expressions of the gift-giver’s creativity, and, unlike so many other typical gifts, you can keep them and appreciate them forever.
Having said all that, I understand your reservations. I’ll start with what, I think, is the easiest one first: that if you create something of your own you might come across as a tightarse. I don’t think you need to worry about this.
Unless there is some particular stipulation in your Secret Santa “rules”, it would be really petty for your team to single you out as giving the “wrong” sort of present simply because it wasn’t store-bought.
Trust your instincts. In the end (yes, I know it’s a hoary old cliche, but it’s a good one) it’s the thought that counts.
The next easiest one to answer is your worry that the recipient won’t like your painting. This is a completely valid concern, but I wonder whether you’ll have nearly the same problem if you buy … well … anything.
Even if you were to opt for a book, and even if you knew their favourite genre or even their favourite author, you could never be completely certain they’ll love what you choose. So, unless you have a strong sense your art style just isn’t for them, I wouldn’t spend too much time fretting over this, either.
Your anxiety about what it will look like framing your own art is definitely the trickiest of the three. On the one hand, the framing makes the whole thing look so much more professional and (for want of a better word) gift-ish than a raw canvas.
On the other, I can see how it might come across as a little bit presumptuous, even vain. So here’s my first piece of advice: what about presenting it as a framed work without mentioning who the artist is?
You could keep it a secret forever, or you could wait to see if the response is positive, and only then reveal the truth – perhaps quietly to the recipient at a later time.
Of course, there’s a good chance someone will ask who it’s by and where it’s from, but if you’re worried about being seen as up yourself, I think saying you don’t know, or being vague (“an artist from [whatever state or city you’re from]”) is a perfectly acceptable white lie.
If you’re not keen on telling a fib, or you think the idea above defeats the purpose of a self-made gift, I have an alternative suggestion. Buy the book, but make a card to go with it.
You can get blank greeting cards pretty easily at art or stationery shops; using one, you could paint or draw your own design on the front (and inside, if you like). If you take this approach, there’s no need for a frame, no worries about seeming “cheap”, and much less risk of seeming like you rate your own talents too highly.
As I mentioned at the start, I sympathise with your worries, but don’t let them get you too anxious. You said in your question you feel a painting “would be more meaningful than another kind of present”.
Trust your instincts. In the end (yes, I know it’s a hoary old cliche, but it’s a good one) it’s the thought that counts. And you’ve put plenty of thought into this gift – no matter what it ends up being.
Work Therapy will take a break over Christmas, but will be back in early January. Keep sending questions to jonathan@theinkbureau.com.au
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Jonathan Rivett is a writer based in Melbourne. He’s written about workplace culture and careers for more than a decade.
