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Secret Santa alternatives for the office

Twelve ideas for a team that would rather do one thing together than buy twenty small presents.

By the Warmcut team · · 4 min read

The email arrives in late November: Secret Santa, $20 limit, names drawn on Friday. Two weeks later, half the office is in a shopping centre at lunchtime, holding a scented candle, trying to decide whether a person they have spoken to twice is a "vanilla" person.

Secret Santa can be fun. It can also be one more job in the busiest month of the year. If your team would rather do one thing together, here are twelve ideas.

One shared thing instead of twenty small ones

1. A donation the team chooses. Everyone puts in what they would have spent, and the team votes on where it goes: a local charity, a toy drive, a school appeal. Announce the total at the end-of-year lunch.

2. A team lunch or breakfast. Pool the money and eat together. It is the one gift every person can use.

3. One thank-you for someone who carried the team. The office manager, the receptionist, the person who kept everything running in a hard year. Each person records a short message, and Warmcut puts them into one film with captions and music, ready to play at the end-of-year lunch. Nobody installs an app or edits anything. It costs from US$19, and you see a free preview before you pay.

4. A team experience. Trivia, bowling, a cooking class, an escape room. Something the team will talk about in February.

5. A volunteering morning. Many charities take groups in December. It is a gift to someone else, and the team gets a morning out of the office together.

Swaps that are not shopping

6. A book swap. Everyone brings a book they loved, wrapped, with a note inside about why. People take one home. The notes are often the best part.

7. A note swap. Draw names as usual, but instead of a present, each person writes the other a short note about something they did well this year. It costs nothing and it is the thing people keep on their desk.

8. A recipe swap. Everyone brings a plate and the recipe card for it. Somebody puts the cards together into a team cookbook in January.

9. A regift swap. Everyone brings something from home they will never use, wrapped. Strict rules: no spending, no rubbish. It is silly, quick and free.

Small and kind

10. Cards for people on leave. The colleague on parental leave, the one who has been unwell. A card signed by the team, posted to their home, reaches the people a Secret Santa misses.

11. A thank-you to another team. IT, the cleaners, the mailroom. A box of something good and a card from your team says you noticed.

12. Nothing at all, said nicely. "This year we're skipping gifts and having lunch together instead" is a perfectly good plan. Most people will be quietly grateful for one less thing to buy in December.

Which one suits your team

  • A small team of five to ten. A team lunch, a note swap, or one thank-you for the person who held things together. Small teams know each other well enough for the words to land.
  • A big office. A donation the team chooses, a book swap, or a thank-you for another team. Things that work without everyone knowing everyone.
  • A remote or hybrid team. A note swap by email, a donation, or a film where everyone records a minute from wherever they are. Posting presents to twenty addresses is the hard way.
  • A team that had a hard year. Keep it gentle: lunch together, or a card for the people who had the hardest time. Nobody needs a game.

If you still want Secret Santa

Some teams love it, and that is fine too. A few things keep it fun:

  • Make it opt-in. People who would rather not can sit it out without explaining.
  • Set a small limit and stick to it. It keeps it fair for everyone on the team.
  • Use wish lists. Three ideas each, written on the slip with the name. It saves a lot of guessing.
  • Leave out anything personal. No clothes, no jokes about anyone's habits.

How to suggest it

Most people are relieved when someone else suggests a change. A short message works:

Hi everyone. For the end of the year, how about we skip Secret Santa and [do the idea] instead? Totally optional, and if you'd like to put something in, any amount is fine. Reply by [date] and I'll organise it.

Make it easy for everyone

  • Keep it optional. Not everyone has $20 spare in December.
  • Keep amounts private. Nobody needs to know who gave what.
  • Call it an end-of-year thank-you. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, and everyone can join a thank-you.
  • Think about the people not in the room. Remote staff, part-timers, people on leave. Post them a card, or send them the link.

Questions

What can we do instead of Secret Santa at work?

Pool the money into one thing: a donation the team chooses, a team lunch, or one thank-you for someone who carried the team this year. A book swap or a note swap also works.

How do we make the end-of-year gift inclusive?

Make it optional, keep any amount small and private, and call it an end-of-year thank-you rather than a Christmas gift, so people who do not celebrate Christmas feel included.

Is it all right to skip gifts at work altogether?

Yes. Many teams prefer a shared lunch or a few kind words. Nobody remembers the candle; people remember being thanked.

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