Employee Says Coworker Kept Complaining About the Christmas Decorations in Her Office Window, Then Took Them Down and Packed Them Away While She Was Out Sick

Office decorations usually aren’t a big deal—but one employee says a small holiday display turned into a surprisingly petty workplace conflict.

After weeks of complaints about a festive decoration in her office window, she came back from sick leave to discover that someone had taken matters into their own hands.

Her decorations were gone.

A decorated christmas tree in an office cubicle — Photo by Invest Europe

A Simple Holiday Decoration

The employee explained that she works in a private office with a window facing the hallway, meaning people walking by can see anything she puts in the window.

Around the holidays, she placed a small Christmas decoration there: a little statue of a cat wearing a Santa hat.

The tiny decoration—what she jokingly calls her “Christmas cat”—became a regular part of her office space.

But apparently, one coworker had a problem with it.

Weeks of Complaints

According to the post, the coworker had been coming into her office repeatedly to complain about the decoration.

The main issue seemed to be that the Christmas-themed item was still displayed weeks after the holidays had passed.

Despite the comments, the employee didn’t remove it. After all, it was inside her own office.

Eventually she had to take a few days off because she was sick.

When she returned, something felt off immediately.

Decorations Gone

The Christmas cat was no longer sitting in the window.

Instead, it had been packed away in a box and placed in the back of her office.

No one had asked her permission.

No one had mentioned moving it.

Someone had simply entered her office and taken it down.

Considering an HR Complaint

The employee said the situation bothered her enough that she briefly considered emailing HR about it.

Part of the reason was that something similar had apparently happened the previous year, when coworkers in accounting moved her decorations.

But she also worried it might sound petty to escalate a complaint about holiday decorations.

After all, it was just a small statue.

Still, the real issue for her wasn’t the decoration itself—it was the fact that someone had entered her workspace and handled her personal belongings.

Her Boss Had a Simple Response

Instead of sending a formal complaint, she ended up mentioning the situation to her boss when they stopped by.

She simply said she planned to put the Christmas cats back up.

Her boss immediately asked what happened.

After hearing the story, the boss reportedly laughed and called the coworker who removed them “petty and ridiculous.”

The verdict was simple: put the decorations back.

Commenters Focused on the Boundary

Many readers agreed that the biggest issue wasn’t the decoration—it was the invasion of personal workspace.

User Scared-Ebb-564 wrote:

“Someone went into your office and messed with your personal stuff without permission. That’s the whole issue.”

Others suggested the situation might call for a little playful revenge.

User MartinisnMurder joked:

“Those cats would be multiplying like gremlins.”

Christmas Cats Year-Round?

In the end, the employee says she plans to keep the decoration right where it belongs—back in the office window.

And judging by the reactions online, some people think she should go even further.

If one Christmas cat caused this much drama, a few more might make the message even clearer.

Willow and Hearth