Secret Santa fails for predictable reasons: the budget is tiny, you barely know the person, and everything gets unwrapped in front of a room. The fix is picking something useful and low-risk rather than trying to be funny about someone you work with.
Prices are approximate and set by the retailer. We shortlist these ourselves.
Set the rules before you shop
Agree three things: the budget (approx. $20, $30 or $50), whether joke gifts are in or out, and the day it happens. Then everyone shops to the same brief.
Safe and genuinely useful under approx. $30
- Who Gives A Crap gift box — the rare joke gift that gets used.
- Tea Tonic gift pack — quiet, inoffensive, works for any age.
- ST. ALi single-origin coffee — perfect for the office coffee snob.
- Spotify Premium gift card — nobody has ever been disappointed by more music.
- Party card game for a crowd — turns the rest of the afternoon into something.
Approx. $30 to $50 if the budget is bigger
- Frank Green reusable cup — the desk gift with the highest hit rate.
- Haigh's chocolate Easter selection — Australian-made and always well received.
- Face roller and gua sha set — a self-care pick that is not a candle.
- Cotton kitchen apron — good for the colleague who talks about food constantly.
What to avoid
Skip anything sized (clothing, jewellery you have to guess at), anything alcohol-based if you are not sure they drink, strongly scented products, and gifts that only make sense to two people in the room. The gift gets unwrapped publicly — keep it kind.
Doing the draw
Draw names two to three weeks out so everyone has time to order. If you are the organiser, note the date in Get Ahead and the reminder does the chasing for you. For the wider family list, see our Christmas gift ideas.
