Annual staff Secret Santa in works; Involvement strengthens morale, cohesiveness

  Like many teams, clubs, and organizations, the staff at NH is getting into the holiday spirit.  As in year’s past, English teacher Mrs. Meagan Neyens is coordinating  Secret Santa.  “Every year at the end of November, I send out an email and ask teachers if they want to participate…”, Neyens stated. 

          This will be the fifth year that the staff has participated in this festivity. In the past, Neyens has had “custodians and secretaries” participate as well. Overall, many educators, including Mr. Mike James, Mrs. Jennifer Chandler, and Mrs. Vicki Bridges, Mrs. Carla Harward, and Mrs. Sparks, are just a few of the people involved. 

     According to Oxford Languages, Secret Santa is an arrangement in which a group of friends or colleagues exchange Christmas presents anonymously, each member of the group being assigned another member for whom to provide a small gift, typically costing no more than a set amount. Shamrock Craic, an Irish culture blog says, in other countries such as the United Kingdom, this activity is referred to as “Kris Kringle” or “Kris Kindle” in Ireland. These names can be traced back to “Christ Child”. As the organizer of this event, Neyens put her own spin on it.

     Neyens explains, teachers “fill out a questionnaire by email” and then she “redistributes them to their Secret Santa”. On “the last week of December, [they begin to] gift the stuff to their Secret Santa.” During the first couple of days, teachers bring in “little stuff, like pencils or candy.” Along the way, participants “should be leaving clues in the way that they gift.” So, “on the last day before break, we have a party where we can guess who our Santa is,” and “eat cupcakes, [etc.]”. Then, “we exchange our final gift which is usually something bigger” or more valuable than the previous gifts. 

      James explains his hesitancy with being a part of this Christmas-themed festivity in the past: “They were always so much! It was like 25 days, [so] I’d forget stuff. But I like the way that she has organized it so that it’s just a couple of days.” The tables have turned for him as he sees this activity as a “morale booster” and thinks “it improves cohesiveness” which encourages “[educators] to have each other’s backs.”

         Bridges had a very meaningful experience after participating in previous years. She details, “I did it [the year before last] and I actually  got  this charm. It reminds me of a crown! Mrs. Crenshaw was my Secret Santa and she had given it to me. So, that’s why it was kind of special. and they call me Queen Bridges, so it just worked out.”

     Neyens and James are excited about this because “it’s a lot of fun and it gives teachers the chance to interact with people in other departments that you wouldn’t normally get to collaborate with.”