The office holiday gift swap can be fun, but it can also cause some problems. There is always one story of what went wrong last year, many times you will hear, "the gift was much cheaper or more expensive than the cost guidelines" or "what was he or she thinking, it just wasn't me." To prevent a situation where co-worker's will be scratching their heads as to the reason of a particular gift, give some thought to the kind of swap your office will have. Will gag gifts be swapped? If not, it is safer to buy something you think someone will enjoy. Be thoughtful and give some real thought to what you buy for the person you have picked.

A few tips can make gift swapping easier:

First and formost, follow the spending guidelines. You could make others uncomfortable if you go over the spending limit.

If you are buying for a specific person in a name-drawing swap, find out something about that person and try to buy something he or she will appreciate. If you know the person is a big movie buff, a gift card to a theater might be just the, well, ticket. If you’re participating in an anonymous gift exchange, you’ll be safer buying a gift card to a type of store that is universally enjoyed, rather than a specialty store.

If you receive something terrible laugh and shake it off. This is a small thing, after all. Don’t hold a grudge if you receive something you don’t want. Thank the person and move on.