Secret Santa at work: how to organise it, step by step

Secret Santa is the easiest way for a team to swap presents without everyone buying for everyone. It only takes a little organising. Here's how to run it at work, including for people who work from home.

The rules in one minute

Everyone who wants to take part puts their name in. Each person is secretly given the name of one colleague to buy a present for, within a set budget. On the day, the presents are handed out and everyone tries to guess who their Secret Santa was.

Step by step

1. Ask who wants to join. Make it clearly optional: some people would rather not, for all sorts of reasons, and that's fine.
2. Set a budget. One amount for everyone, low enough that nobody feels stretched. Many teams pick something like £10 or £15.
3. Pick a date to swap the presents: the Christmas party, the last team meeting before the break, or a video call.
4. Draw the names. Paper slips in a hat work for a team in one room. For remote teams, use a free name-drawing website that emails each person their match.
5. Share a wish list (optional). A shared document where people can add a hint or two ("I love tea", "no chocolate, please") saves a lot of guessing.
6. Swap the presents on the day and enjoy the guessing.

Secret Santa for remote and hybrid teams

• Post the presents to each other's homes, or ask people to buy online and deliver straight to the recipient. Collect addresses only from people who are happy to share them.
• Open them together on a video call, one at a time, so everyone sees the reactions.
• Agree on a delivery date a few days before the call, so parcels arrive in time.

Gift ideas that work at work

• A nice mug with a favourite coffee or tea
• A desk plant that's hard to kill
• A book everyone in the team has been talking about
• Fancy hot chocolate or a box of biscuits to share
• A notebook and a good pen
• Something linked to a team in-joke

Keep it suitable for work: nothing too personal, nothing that could embarrass anyone. Our group gift ideas for colleagues has more inspiration.

Things to avoid

• Making it compulsory. Put "optional" in the invitation.
• A budget that's too high. It turns a bit of fun into a worry.
• Forgetting people on leave. Ask them before the draw, not after.
• Leaving it too late. Draw the names two or three weeks before the swap, so there's time to shop and post.

Fun twists on Secret Santa

• A theme: "something under £10 that starts with the first letter of your name", "something blue", or "a book you loved".
• Homemade only: biscuits, a playlist, a drawing. Cheap, personal and often the most memorable.
• The swap game: everyone brings a wrapped present, picks one in turn, and can "steal" a present already opened instead. Great for big groups.
• Charity Santa: instead of buying for each other, the team puts the same budget towards a charity it chooses together.
• Guess who: before the reveal, each person has one guess at their Secret Santa. Keep a tally for bragging rights.

A simple timeline

Add a card everyone signs

A Secret Santa is a good moment for a team Christmas card: one card from everyone, for the whole team or for a colleague who's had a big year. Start a group card, share the link in the team chat next to the Secret Santa details, and everyone can add a message, a GIF or a photo from their phone. Schedule it for the day of the swap and open it together.

Start a team Christmas card. For more ideas, see our Christmas card messages.