Everything is more magical around Christmas time, with all of the decorations, lights, delicious food and gifts. Christmas is also the time for having fun together, organising activities with family and friends and getting into the Christmas spirit.
One such activity that is popular around the globe is Secret Santa, which is the perfect opportunity to have fun together and exchange gifts.
Organising a Secret Santa means that each person that joins in will receive a gift from another member of the group, often anonymously. Each person has to give a gift to the person assigned to them, without revealing their own name beforehand. Names can be drawn in the classic way, by writing them on a piece of paper and pulling them from a hat or bowl, or it can be arranged online. There are many free websites offering this service.
Secret Santa is a fun activity for all ages and is easy to organise, though it's good to take a few precautions to ensure everything runs smoothly. We have a few tips for you: 1. Determine a budget: You obviously don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable at your event. Determining a maximum budget in advance can prevent people from going overboard and allow everyone to find a gift within their means. 2. Include suggestions: It may be that not everyone knows everyone very well within the group. Choosing a gift is never easy, especially if you have no idea of someone's preferences. Ask participants to include some suggestions on the type of gift they would like to receive, along with their name. 3. Organise an event to open the gifts together: The fun part is, of course, the opening of the gifts. Gather the participants for an evening of unwrapping presents and toasting to Christmas together. If you don't have the possibility to organise the event live, take it online! 4. Buy the gift on time: It can be easy to forget the time and have to scramble last-minute for events like these. To make sure everyone gets their gift in time, set a clear date by which to get the gift to the person whose name has been drawn. 5. Have fun! Don't forget that having fun is the most important thing. Don't take it too seriously and don't stress about finding the perfect gift.
It can be tricky to find a great Secret Santa gift if you have a smaller budget. We've included a few gift ideas for you below which could help. Our YourSurprise gifts are personalised, meaning they are tailor-made for the recipient, allowing you to show them you’ve put thought and effort into their gift.
Secret Santa is an activity that lends itself very well to being organised at the office and can be a fun way to wish each other a Merry Christmas. The rules of Secret Santa in the office are the same, although you can create variations to make the event even more fun. For example, you can ask colleagues to guess the name of the Secret Santa once the gift has been unwrapped or add a card with a poem about the recipient. Secret Santa is the perfect opportunity to bring colleagues together and have fun. A little tip: if your office has many employees, divide your colleagues into smaller teams to avoid things getting too chaotic.
