A Sneaky Guide to Playing Secret Santa

A Sneaky Guide to Playing Secret Santa

That jolly old geezer in the red suit gets all the credit around this time of year. With the perfect Secret Santa gift, you can earn some kudos for yourself this festive season! Here’s how to play Secret Santa, and how to choose an ace gift for a friend or coworker.

How Does Secret Santa Work?

Secret Santa is a gift exchange game that’s become popular at office parties and friends’ get-togethers. In big groups, Secret Santa is a nice way to make sure that everyone gets a little something, and nobody goes skint on multiple gifts.

Here’s how it works: A few days or weeks before the event, all participants’ names will be placed in a hat and mixed up. Everyone will draw a name for the hat at random, and be responsible for buying a gift for the person chosen. Normally there is a price limit on the gifts, to keep things fair. It’s also important to keep your selection a secret, and not tell anybody who you’ll be playing “Santa” to!

Everyone will wrap their Secret Santa gift labelled with the recipient’s name, but not the giver’s name. The gifts will be placed together in one big pile, to keep things anonymous, and when it’s time to open them, each recipient will get a chance to guess who chose their gift for them. If they can’t guess, the Santa will ‘fess up.

What to Get for Secret Santa…

Secret Santa is all about the luck of the draw – you might get lucky and pick your work BFF, or you might get stuck buying a gift for Janet from accounting, whose interests remain a complete mystery to you. If that’s the case, it’s time to get a little sneaky.

Ask around and try to find out more about your recipient’s interests and hobbies. Think about the kind of gift you’d like to get if you were in their shoes. Check out Scribbler’s Secret Santa gift selection online for inspiration, and you’ll find there’s something for everyone.

Secret Santa Etiquette

• If you’re taking part in a Secret Santa game this year, be a good sport and follow the rules!
• Don’t blab! Keep your chosen gift recipient to yourself, so you don’t spoil the surprise.
• You can’t be your own Santa. This should go without saying, but on the off chance you choose your own name, ask to choose again, and pop your name back in the hat for someone else to pick.
• Stick to the price limit. It’s there for a reason – don’t go overboard, remember to keep things fair.
• When in doubt – err on the side of caution! Secret Santa can be a bit of a minefield when shopping for a coworker or a boss. A Boris dog toy or set of Christmas pudding nipple tassels might be a hit with your mates, but depending on your workplace culture it’s usually best to avoid gifting anything too political or naughty.

Luckily, Scribbler has everything from novelty cosmetics to crazy socks to fab stationery, which will put a smile on someone’s face without giving your Head of HR a headache!

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