The other day Suzanne left this comment on the blog; “Mavis do you have suggestions for Secret Santa gifts? Maybe your favourite canned foods or whatnot.” Well yes, yes I do Suzanne. I have several secret Santa gift ideas! 🙂
Whether it’s an upcoming office party, neighborhood Christmas get-together or your family’s Christmas celebration with a million cousins, aunts, and uncles, if you don’t want to break the bank, the “Secret Santa” style of gift giving is often the best way to go.
Not only is it a bunch of fun, but it really takes the edge off having to buy everyone gifts. Especially when there is a price limit set beforehand. When I’ve participated in this style of gift giving in the past, the limit was usually in the $20 – $25 range. And while $20 doesn’t go as far as it used to, I still think that price point is do-able.
Plus, there is just such a more relaxed feeling in the room knowing everyone is in the same boat budget wise. It’s also fun because a lot of times when you are drawing names, you end up with someone you might not have thought about getting a gift for in the past.
The main rule with secret Santa gifts though, always seems to be setting a dollar limit on how expensive the gift can be. Stick to it!!
Secret Santa Gift Ideas
Green Thumb – A gardening book, a nice set of gardening gloves and/or some seed packets. If you want to go the live plant route, a potted orchid or nice succulent plant would be lovely as well.
Car Enthusiast – How about the latest car magazine and some air-fresheners and tire shine?
Bookworm – Find the latest bestseller in a category you know they’ll love or a gift card to the local bookstore where they live.
Intellectual type- How about tickets to a local museum or exhibit?
Cook – A nice wooden spoon and dish towel wrapped up with some twine and a sprig of pine or holly.
Artist – Paints, brushes, colored pencils, nice drawing paper, a few bottles of chunky glitter, a gift card to the local craft store? Figure out what they love to do and find a simple supply you know they’ll use. Remember, a useful gift is always a good gift!
More Secret Santa Gift Ideas
Sports Fanatic – How about a local team shirt or hat?
Gamer – I have absolutely no idea on this one. Any ideas?
Outdoorsman – Hiking socks or a guidebook for local trails.
Little Kids – How about 20 Hot Wheels cars, an art kit or a geode they can break and a magnifying glass to inspect it with. You also can’t go wrong with a sack of candy. Just be sure to include Pop Rocks and a giant jawbreaker. 😉
Couch Potatoes – A programmable remote and a bag of Pork Rinds. HA HA HA! {Okay, so maybe I asked the HH on that one.
You get the idea. Make it personal and a bit of fun at the same time. The best part of Secret Santa is the fun atmosphere of the entire thing and the laughter when some of the people open their gifts. Get creative and just have fun!
Do you have any secret Santa gift ideas? Do you have something you gave or received that you absolutely loved? Please share!
~Mavis
Mel says
For bakers: vanilla, cookie cutters, cookie scoops, sprinkles or sanding sugar, etc.
We did secret Santa in college, and I always ended up with my scrapbooking friend, so she always got glue dots, scrapbook paper, etc.
Mary says
Perfect timing on this post – we have a party for my husbands work and do a Yankee swap, no more than $20 And you have provided many good options!
Rosemary says
Our group used to do the “Secret Santa” thing and draw names, but we changed things up last year and it has made gift giving so easy (and fun). Last year everyone brought a book (gift wrapped) and then we drew names to see who would go first to pick out a gift and so on. There was no way to see who would get which book – which created a surprise element. Our limit has been $10. This year we are doing socks. I got some cute ones from amazon – the kind that say “if you can read this . . .” There were lots of options. This idea has truly saved me some money.
Pamela Sheppard says
Socks are a great idea. I love getting socks as a gift. I’ll have to tuck this idea away for another year!
Daria says
Gamers can always use a gift card for their platform – Nintendo Switch, XBox, Playstation. Even stores like Best Buy or Amazon are good choices. Some games have paid features, or they can save them up to buy new games. Maybe put it with a box of candy or other treats, you feel like you’re giving them something tangible.
Anne Hill Wiebe says
Another gift for a gamer is a set of decorative/beautiful/many-sided dice. Most gamers will love this and it doesn’t cost much.
DGReid says
I came here to say the same thing basically. Add Steam to the list of possible gift cards and maybe a box of their favorite snack and a pack of trading cards. Those are always fun to open up. Target also has a pretty good line-up of nerdy tee shirts at a reasonable price.
Carrie says
Our family plays the game where you draw numbers and can steal gifts. I don’t rememwhat its called. We do a suggested $25 limit (if you want to spend more go for it).
It’s a wide age range 10-73…so it gets tricky. This year we added a theme. Your gift has to be a color. You get to interpret that in anyway you want. Everything in your gift could be blue or you could get hot sauces and call it red.
A big hit every year is a bag of charcuterie items. Could be food or the little tooth picks.
Take a walk around Homegoods/Marshall’s and you can find a ton of options.
Ashley Bananas says
I have a glut of unlit candles that have been gifted to me, or that I have bought for .25 cents to $1 per item. I usually will gift a candle and maybe some fancy candies like a bag of truffles. It’s generic, but if I don’t know someone well I hope it is something they can use and enjoy.
Annette says
I buy a set of nice blank note cards from Etsy, and gift those along with some pretty postage stamps.
Brianna says
I always give a bouquet arranged of scratch-it lottery tickets that are ‘seasonal’ themed.
Julie says
About forty years ago, I attended a family ornament exchange of a relative’s extended family with a budget of $5/ornament. Since it was my first time attending, I didn’t know the rules really weren’t the rules. I stuck to the $5 rule and was very hurt when the person who received my ornament in the exchange made a snarky unkind comment about my “cheap” ornament in front of all of us. I realized $5 was not the reality and there was an unsaid competition for the glory of best ornament which was obviously more than a $5 expense in the group. Ever since, I prefer to not participate in those type of events. I know the exchange said more about that person’s character than mine but I have other ways I prefer to enjoy the holidays. May there only be exchanges with nice polite holiday- spirited people be allowed for you all.
Anne Hill Wiebe says
I had a similar experience with my first time in the office Secret Santa exchange at my current job. I stuck to the limit, which was $20. NO ONE ELSE DID. They gave MANY nice gifts, probably $75 worth, which is really way over the top in my opinion. I was embarrassed and ended up buying an additional gift for my giftee.
Linda Sand says
Gamer–a gel cushion for all that sitting? comfy socks? Not a lap rug as they need to be able to move freely.
Lindsey says
Think about your life and see if you can bless someone with your talents. The best received gift I gave at a Secret Santa party was a “subscription” to a dozen eggs from my chickens and a loaf of homemade challah. The person got one of each every Friday for the month of January.
Barbara Dougherty says
Awesome gift!!
All good ideas.
Ellen in Clackamas says
The last few years I worked our office did a sock exchange. We drew names for our recipient and had a budget of $20 ( because some people were giving department store socks and some were giving cashmere). It was fun and everyone got something useful. I still have some from years past and have lovely memories of the giver.
Ca says
My family has played a game we call ‘Shovunda’ for years. Similar to Pirate gift exchange. The gifts are often so bad and hilarious that all you want to do is shove it under the bed, thus the name. $20.00 limit. We have a list of rules that gets posted every year before our family Christmas party.
Pat says
My girlfriends and have a lunch together, ( we rotate homes or apts. ) each year. This year we are gifting each other dish towels. One year it was socks, another year it was coffee shop gift cards. I decided to make each lady a whisk filled with small candies, with a tag saying, “I whisk you a merry Christmas” to go with the towel. Remember that it’s the thought that counts.
tia in boise says
I gave my volunteer parents a whisk full of a variety of Kisses last year (and this year)–my tags say “I WHISK you a merry KISS-mas!”
Linda says
I have a stash of gifts. Usually, I can find the perfect gift there. All these gifts are bought on sale, usually clearance. I can give them for all sorts of people and lots of occasions. I bought $20 scarves for $3. Just now, I bought $25+ Hershey’s Kiss Candy Dishes for $5. These will make very nice gifts for a few years–Christmas, Secret Santa, birthdays, and just because.
In years past, I have made gifts. My friend who did not cook received a bag full of food he did not know how to prepare. He cooked nothing. He got cornbread, cut in portions and ready for freezer if he wanted, deviled eggs, chocolate pound cake, and other things I cooked for him. He was sooo happy.
The best secret pal gift I received was a huge light pink azalea. However, it was three plants in a huge pot. So, I planted three azalea and was so happy and grateful.
Nancy says
Great ideas!! Lol..love the couch potato suggestions!! 🙂
Andrea N Schrader says
I have done what we call “favorite things” exchanges. Every person participating brings the same gift for everyone, and the limit is usually $10. (Obviously would not want to do this with a large family but it’s perfect for small friend groups). Some things that have been given include: good vanilla, fancy makeup wipes, nice pens, magnetic measuring spoons, notecards. Really just anything small that you love and think others might too!