It arrives every November like clockwork: the office Secret Santa. Names in a hat (or, increasingly, a Slack bot). A budget. And the sinking realisation that you've drawn the one person you know least well in the entire company.
Fear not. We're going to help you actually nail it.
The classic UK Secret Santa budget
In most UK offices, the Secret Santa budget sits somewhere between £10 and £20. That's enough to get something genuinely nice if you're thoughtful — and enough to get something entirely forgettable if you're not. The budget isn't the problem. The thinking is.
The three questions to ask yourself
- What do I actually know about this person? Hobbies, interests, what they eat for lunch, what they talk about, where they went on holiday. Any data is useful.
- What would make them smile in the moment of opening it? Secret Santa is a public unwrapping — something that gets a genuine laugh or an "oh, I actually really wanted this!" is a win.
- Is there a wishlist I can check? If your office uses Simply Gift for Secret Santa, this is cheating (the good kind). Check the wishlist.
"The best Secret Santa gifts feel considered. Even within a tight budget, something that shows you paid attention will always beat a generic office gift."
Secret Santa ideas that always work
Under £10:
- A luxury hot chocolate kit
- A funny but thoughtful book relevant to their interests
- A beautiful notebook
- Nice hand cream or hand soap
- Artisan coffee or a pack of quality teas
Under £20:
- A nice candle from a quality brand (Diptyque, Boy Smells, Skandinavisk)
- A clever desk gadget
- A cookbook relevant to something they've mentioned
- A spa gift set
- A quality bottle of something they drink
When you genuinely have no idea
Ask a mutual colleague. They'll know something. If you truly have nothing to go on, a beautiful food item — a nice hamper, artisan chocolates, a quality tin of biscuits — is the diplomatic fallback that almost nobody genuinely dislikes.
The wishlist-powered Secret Santa: More offices now ask participants to create a wishlist as part of their setup. It removes all guesswork, keeps everything within budget, and means people actually get what they want. Each participant creates a wishlist on Simply Gift, shares it with the group, and the gifter picks with confidence.
Running this year's Secret Santa? Make it effortless.
Get everyone to create a wishlist on Simply Gift. All the fun of the mystery, none of the gifting anxiety. Takes five minutes to set up.
Set up your Secret Santa →