This is good!

Secret Santa Gifts
Yes, it’s Christmas time again. Time once more to hang the decorations, sing carols, drink hot chocolate, send cards to loved ones and participate in the obligatory “Secret Santa” at the office. Designed to strengthen the interpersonal atmosphere among workers, the practice is meant to make the CEO think a bit about the present he has to buy for that nameless punk in the mailroom—the one with the pierced tongue and the tattoo that’s clearly visible above his collar. It’s also a chance for the nameless punk to buy something nice for that techno-girl working over in collections.

We sent a list of area notables to other area notables—public officials, bloggers, business people, media personalities, you name it—requesting their ideas for “Secret Santa” gifts. It’s interesting what the fog of anonymity will encourage people to suggest.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown
A trip to Cleveland
A desktop model of the new Bass Pro store in Auburn, New York
A parking ticket
A practical joke book
A fish
An “Um” Catcher—I think they sell them at Sharper Image
A pass from Maurice Garner that says, “You don’t owe me anything anymore.”

Erie County Executive Joel Giambra

A trip back in time
A victory in the case of Giambra et al v. Secretary of the Interior (the anti-casino case pending in federal court)
A duck. A lame one.
A one-way ticket to anywhere but Buffalo
A Dale Carnegie Scholarship
A chance to go back in time and start over

NYS Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer

A trip to the moon
A flak jacket for his use on Day One
Some bad press, for a change
An apartment in Buffalo
Alan Hevesi’s chauffeur
An invitation to Sheldon Silver’s retirement party

US Representative Brian Higgins

A trip to the Earth
Louise Slaughter’s phone number
The Electric Company DVD set
A map of Buffalo (without the waterfront)
A haircut (By the way, Bono called. He wants his glasses back.)
A new tailor

US Senator Hillary Clinton

A trip to Buffalo
A copy of Barack Obama’s new book
A pool boy
Al Gore as a worthy candidate
A cookbook of cookie recipies
A progressive platform for her presidential campaign

Amherst Supervisor Satish Mohan

A trip to a Civilian Medal of Honor
He has it all
A copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People
Erie County Executive aspirations
Anything he wants
New plumbing. And new colleagues

Buffalo Schools Superintendent James Williams

A trip to a well deserved vacation
A new BTF president
A DVD of Lean on Me
I’d like to give him a well behaved student body and concerned active parents
Self-defense courses for teachers
A new job in a new city

BTF President Phil Rumore

A trip to a well deserved vacation with James Williams
A nice retirement home in Turkmenistan
A sense of humor
A gold watch
An apple
A pink slip
A new job in the same new city as James Williams
Albright-Knox Director
Louis Grachos
A trip to Richard Bronstein’s warehouse
A new endowment so that he doesn’t have to sell off old art in order to buy new
A gift certificate to eBay
A finger paint set
Nothing old, something new, something borrowed—maybe from Picasso’s Blue Period

Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s Andrew Rudnick

A trip to reality
A nice retirement home in Uzbekistan
A shiny new bowtie
Moustache wax
An invitation to his own retirement party

Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano

A trip to the Stanley Cup
A copy of Judge Skretny’s decision for the plaintiffs in Giambra et al v. Secretary of the Interior (the anti-casino case)
A fricking medal
A pair of skates
A long season