A TikTok video from creator @cookiesandorangejuice has gone viral, showing the strange way some companies are now handing out Christmas bonuses. The video has gotten over 3.5 million views and shows something many people found hard to believe.
At one of her old jobs, employees had to play a game if they wanted a $100 Christmas bonus. According to Bro Bible, the game wasn’t simple either. Workers had to bowl a strike using a frozen turkey instead of a regular bowling ball. If they didn’t get a strike, it’s unclear whether they got the money at all.
The viral TikTok clip shows the creator standing at a makeshift bowling lane. She picks up the frozen turkey and rolls it toward the pins. She knocked down all the pins except one, missing the strike. The video doesn’t show if she ended up getting the bonus, but the whole thing looked awkward and unnecessary.
Holiday bonuses have gotten much smaller over the years
The difference between old bonuses and modern ones is huge. Companies started giving cash bonuses instead of gifts in the early 1900s. Back then, J.P. Morgan & Company reportedly gave employees an entire year’s salary as a holiday bonus. Now, bonuses are much smaller, and most workers don’t even get one. Only about 12% of private-sector workers got any bonus in 2024.
People who saw the turkey bowling video had strong reactions. Many compared it to the TV show The Office. Some, however, found it offensive. “Am I the only one disturbed about throwing around a dead turkey? It’s an animal that gave up it’s life so that we can eat, not play games with it :/,” one person wrote. “this is a literal animal that gave it’s life to be used as a toy?” another said.
While this workplace situation went viral, other holiday moments have landed people in trouble, proving the season can bring unexpected problems.
After the video went viral, people started sharing their own bad bonus stories. “I had a job where the boss literally took a stack of money and threw it in his pool and everyone could dive into his cold pool in December to get a Christmas bonus of whatever they collected. That was literally when I knew I had to get out of there lol,” one person wrote.
About 10.5% of Americans, or over 35.9 million people, lived in poverty in 2024. In 2023, the bottom 60% of households by income couldn’t afford a basic quality of life. Medical premiums went up 301% between 2001 and 2023. Travel costs rose 170%, rent increased 131%, and the cost of raising children grew by 107%.
When everyday costs keep rising, $100 becomes important money. Making someone bowl with a frozen turkey to earn it feels ridiculous. The holidays are supposed to bring joy, but sometimes they bring disappointment instead, much like when beloved holiday movie secrets get revealed and ruin the magic for fans.
Published: Dec 5, 2025 12:19 pm