Secret Santa gift ideas that won’t end up in a drawer
You’ve drawn a name, you’ve got a budget and you barely know what they like. Here are Secret Santa gift ideas for £5, £10 and £20, the ones to pick when you’ve left it late, and a few to steer clear of.
by Ashley at InstaQuiz
Three rules for a good Secret Santa gift
Stick to the budget
Spending double makes everyone else’s gift look mean, and spending half gets noticed. If the limit is £10, aim for £8 to £10.
Buy something that gets used up or done
Food, drink, something for a bath or something to do together. Nobody needs another novelty mug, and nothing here needs a shelf.
Buy for them, not for the laugh
A joke gift is funny for ten seconds. If you know one thing about them, such as their team, their dog or their tea order, use it.
Secret Santa gifts for £5 and under
A £5 limit is the hardest to shop for, because most things at that price are tat. These aren’t.
A posh bar of chocolate
One really good bar beats a big box of average ones. Pick an unusual flavour and it looks like you thought about it.
A quiz night gift card
A party pass for a quiz night with friends or family, sent by email or printed as a card. It’s £5, so it lands exactly on budget. More on this below.
A hot chocolate kit
A sachet of good hot chocolate, a few marshmallows and a candy cane in a paper bag. Cheap, seasonal and gone by Boxing Day.
A charity shop paperback
Choose one you loved and write why on a note inside the cover. It costs a pound or two and feels personal.
Seeds or a small succulent
A packet of herb or sunflower seeds, or a little plant for a desk or windowsill. Hard to dislike and easy to keep alive.
A good hand cream or lip balm
Winter makes these useful for nearly everyone. Go for unscented or lightly scented if you don’t know their taste.
Secret Santa gifts for £10 and under
A common office budget. At £10 you can pair two small things, which always looks more thoughtful than one.
A mug with something in it
A plain, nice mug filled with their tea, coffee or sweets. The filling is what makes it a present.
A small card game
A travel-sized game they can play on Christmas Day. Pick one with rules that fit on a single card.
Proper socks
One pair of thick, good socks, not a pack of five thin ones. A gift people pretend to mock and then wear all winter.
A candle
Stick to clean, gentle scents such as fig, citrus or pine. Save the very sweet ones for someone you know well.
Something for the kitchen cupboard
Chilli jam, local honey, a jar of good pesto or a hot sauce. Works for anyone who eats, which is everyone.
A notebook and a pen that writes well
Useful at work and at home. Plain covers age better than slogans.
Secret Santa gifts for £20 and under
Common among friends and families who swap one gift each. Enough for something they’ll keep.
A board game or a party game
Something for four or more players that takes under an hour. It gets opened on the day and played that evening.
A scarf, gloves or a beanie
Neutral colours, soft fabric. One size fits most, which matters when you can’t ask.
An insulated cup or bottle
For the commute, the gym or the desk. Choose a plain colour and it suits anyone.
A cookbook
Choose by how they eat, not how you do: quick midweek dinners, baking or one cuisine they love.
A bottle, if you’re sure
Wine, gin or a craft beer selection only when you know they drink. Otherwise a good alcohol-free one, or leave it out.
A gift to charity in their name
A donation card from a charity they’d care about. Best for the colleague who says they don’t want anything.
Last-minute Secret Santa gifts
The swap is tomorrow and the shops are shut. These arrive by email in minutes, and you can print them so there’s still something to open.
A quiz night gift card
Bought in a couple of minutes and emailed straight to them, or to you to print and put in an envelope. £5.
A cinema or coffee e-gift card
Most chains sell them online in small amounts and send them by email within minutes.
An e-book or an audiobook
Send a title you’d recommend, with a line about why. It arrives on their phone.
A charity donation
Most charities email a certificate you can forward or print. Nothing to wrap and nothing to post.
Give a quiz night for £5
This one is ours: InstaQuiz is a party quiz you host from your phone, and the gift card is a party pass for one quiz night. Everyone joins in their phone browser, the questions go on the TV and the scores stay secret until the podium. It suits the colleague who loves a pub quiz and the family that gets competitive at Christmas.
To Sam
Merry Christmas
Quiz night’s on me. Loser does the washing up.
From Your Secret Santa
InstaQuiz party pass
1
Go to instaquiz.app/gift and pick a card: Christmas, thank you, or one with your own words on it.
2
Add their name, yours (or “Your Secret Santa”) and a short message.
3
Choose how it arrives: we email it to them straight away, or to you to forward or print. The printed card has a QR code, so it works in an envelope under the tree.
4
They open it and get a party pass: a quiz night for up to 50 phones, with every quiz pack, for 48 hours. The 48 hours start with their first game, and the gift lasts 12 months.
Deodorant, diet books, anti-ageing cream and “for your age” jokes. Even meant kindly, they read as a comment.
Jokes only you will get
If the gift needs explaining to the room, it’s for you, not for them. Rude gifts at work are a risk that isn’t worth £10.
Alcohol for someone you don’t know
Plenty of people don’t drink, and they shouldn’t have to say so in front of the office.
Going well over the limit
It isn’t generous, it’s awkward. The budget is there so nobody has to worry.
How Secret Santa works
1
Everyone’s name goes into a hat or a free name-drawing website, and each person draws one name in secret.
2
The group agrees a budget, usually £5, £10 or £20, and a date for the swap.
3
Each person buys one gift for the name they drew, wraps it and labels it with the recipient’s name only.
4
On the day the gifts go in a pile, everyone opens theirs and tries to guess who it came from.
Once the gifts are open, keep everyone in the room with a quick Christmas quiz. One round of 10 questions takes about 15 minutes, and it’s free for up to 8 phones.
Whatever the group agreed, and close to it. Most groups set £5, £10 or £20. If no limit has been set, suggest one before anyone starts shopping.
What’s a good Secret Santa gift for someone you don’t know?
Something that gets used up: good chocolate, a hot chocolate kit, hand cream or something for the kitchen cupboard. Avoid clothes with sizes, strong scents and alcohol.
What are good last-minute Secret Santa gifts?
Gifts that arrive by email: an e-gift card for a cinema or coffee shop, an e-book, a charity donation or a quiz night gift card. Print it and put it in an envelope so there’s something to open.
What’s a good Secret Santa gift for £5?
A posh chocolate bar, a charity shop paperback with a note inside, a hot chocolate kit, a small plant or a £5 quiz night gift card.
How does Secret Santa work when people aren’t in the same place?
Use a name-drawing website, then send gifts by post or by email. Digital gifts save the postage, which can cost more than a £5 gift. Open them together on a video call.
What do you write on a Secret Santa gift?
Just their name on the outside, so the giver stays secret. Inside, a line such as “Merry Christmas from your Secret Santa” is plenty, with a small clue if your group likes guessing.