Skip To: Secret Santa Gift Ideas
If you are organizing or attending a Secret Santa gift exchange this year, it’s natural that you might have some questions about this yearly event:
- What are Secret Santa rules?
- How is Secret Santa assigned?
- What should be Secret Santa gift price limit?
Sassy Santa has all the Secret Santa rules for you on this page!
You can also link to or download these rules (shorter & printer friendly).
Main Secret Santa Rules
1. Set the gift price limit.
Limit the amount for everyone to spend on Secret Santa gift exchange. It is common to set a reasonable price range that the participants can have in mind when buying gifts.
2. Set the theme for gifts.
Often Secret Santa gift exchange is run around a specific theme, like “Hats”, or “Mugs” or anything else really. Set the theme if you want to have themed Secret Santa exchange or follow variations listed below.
3. Arrange a date for the gift exchange.
It is important to set the date that everyone can attend. Usually a Secret Santa gifts are exchanged at the Christmas party, so setting it on a day where everyone can be present is a great idea.
4. Assign random recipient to year participant.
Use online Secret Santa generators or apps to assign everyone a Secret Santa. The simplest way is to write everyone’s names on pieces of papers and have one person secretly pick one name out of the random batch.
5. Keep the secret during the exchange!
Don’t forget: everyone must keep a secret of who they got the gift for. Hence the name Secret Santa.
Variations
* Secret Santa Questionnaires
A common variation in running a Secret Santa is to have everyone answer a short questionnaire that will provide a rough idea of what the person is into and what they would like to receive as a gift. Obviously this option is appropriate if you decide not to run a themed Secret Santa.
* Wish Lists
Wish lists make Secret Santa even easier. Everyone provides their wish list publicly, where wished items fall into the price range suggested in rules and can be easily identified by each person’s Secret Santa.
Download Secret Santa Rules
Printer friendly Secret Santa rules are available for download below. PDF is handy for quickly viewing or printing the rules out while the Word document will allow you to change the specifics of the rules before you print.
PDF: SecretSantaRules.pdf
Word: SecretSantaRules.doc
Link to Secret Santa Rules
If you are organizing an event, it might be handy to link to these rules to keep eveyone up to speed on how exactly white elephant gift exchange takes place. You can copy and paste code below to link to this page from your website, blog or event page:
Choosing Presents
An advantage of Secret Santa is you don’t have to stick to the typical kinds of gifts that you would in a regular gift exchange. These gifts can be funny and even gag gifts, which make the exchange that much more fun.
Another great plus for partaking in a Secret Santa is you can find a ton of great gift ideas online. When you shop online you don’t have to worry about finding something in the budget you have been given because there are a plethora of Secret Santa gift ideas, regardless if your budget is five dollars or a hundred dollars. If you’re strapped for time shopping online is great, no need to spend hours of your time out at stores.
Take a look at the great Secret Santa gifts we have suggested. You’ll surely save time and we have really cool gifts and gag gifts that you would not find in stores.
