I have to admit to not being the biggest fan of Secret Santa. My experience has been very mixed, but they do have their place. I think they only work if there are quite strict rules. And if you’re in a group doing presents with people who really aren’t like you (ie work), either you need to be able to laugh off dodgy gifts, or be happy with people just buying you something a bit boring.
What is Secret Santa?
If you’re not familiar, Secret Santa is a way of present buying which is anonymous. Everyone taking part pulls a name out of a hat, and they buy a gift for the person they pulled out of the hat. There’s a set amount of money, so it’s a fair way of gift giving. Some are themed.
After gifts are given, you can either share who bought what gift, or continue to keep it quiet.
Who does Secret Santa?
Most people do them in workplaces, but they’re good for groups of friends (we did them one year for our NCT group babies), and if you’ve got a big family, it can be a great alternative to buying for everyone. Instead of spending a nominal amount on x number of people, you could each spend a slightly higher amount and get a better gift for one person.
Especially if you’ve families where some can’t or don’t want to spend a lot of money, it can be a great way to ‘release’ people from never ending present buying. Recipients could end up getting 1 decent gift instead of lots of little gifts they don’t really need or want. Less gifts but one better gift means better for sustainable giving too. Just choose your group well — you don’t want to be the one person that Great Aunt Agnes is buying for when she’s has no idea what buying for a teen of the 21st century entails.
I’ve also seen a lot of Secret Santas organised in Facebook groups. I’ve done them with my former online baby forum birth board group, with bloggers, and I know the farmers wives group I’m in do one too.
Tips for taking part and organising
1, Decide the group taking part and set out the rules so everyone is clear.
2, Choose your method of picking names. You can do it literally pulling names out of the hat, or use an online name generator, or get everyone to add their details, preferences etc and use something like Elfster. This does all the organising for you, and is great if you’re having to post gifts to each other so everything can be tracked.
3, Decide on the budget. £5 is quite traditional for workplaces, but is a really low amount to get anything decent. Outside of family, £10 is probably the maximum you want to go to. Especially if you’re having to post gifts which can be quite expensive.
4, Choose a theme — my brother’s work always do a joke secret santa. Some of my current work colleague do a sustainability challenge — no gifts can be new, but you can make, upcycle or buy preloved. I’ve also done a Christmas decoration one before.
5, Decide whether you want to share things you like or dislike to give clues. It kind of goes against what Secret Santa is about, but some clues might help to giver if they don’t know you at all.
Find the other tips for a successful Secret Santa gift exchange on the blog.
What’s been the best or worst Secret Santa gift you’ve received? And what tips would you add?
