Secret Santa Gift Ideas
It’s the time of gift giving, with Christmas only around the corner, and what better way to do so than Secret Santa! This will be perfect for university students on a tight budget this year but are still wanting to exchange presents with friends or family, or perhaps you simply fancy a bit of fun with your friends in the spirit of Christmas. Here are some Secret Santa game ideas to spice up your gift giving this Christmas.
Game ideas:
Classic Secret Santa – Each player puts their name into a hat and picks one out, or uses an online random generator if you aren’t with everyone in person (‘Elfster’ is particularly useful if you are away at university but planning to do it with home friends). Set a budget that works for all of you, this could be from £5 to £20. You could even set a theme for the presents, such as weird and funny gifts, nice gifts, or a bit of both! Wrap up your presents in newspaper to keep it anonymous or place them in a plastic bag when you arrive so nobody knows who has each other. When you go around opening your presents, try and guess who had you. Perhaps create a prize for those who guess correctly.
White Elephant – Each player will buy a random gift, wrap it, and put it in the middle of the table. After deciding on an order with a random selector or drawing names out of a hat, and sitting in this order, the first player chooses a gift of their liking to unwrap in front of everyone. The next player then gets the choice to do the same and unwrap a new gift, or they can steal that gift off of the first player if they like the look of it. This goes on until everyone has had a go, and everyone has a gift, however a gift can only be stolen a maximum of three times. To end the game, everyone who has had a gift stolen from them can then choose to steal again, and the game ends when someone decides to keep their gift and not steal. This is a competitive yet fun version of Secret Santa, and there are so many variations of the game to keep it interesting, such as everyone bringing gifts of completely different values!
Santa’s Casino – In this game, players bring with them money as well as a gift. You will set a budget for the money (for example £10 each) and the gifts (£5 each). The money goes towards a jackpot, whilst the gifts are wrapped up and placed in the middle of the table. The game begins by each player taking it in turns to choose one of three options:
Option 1: Choose a gift from the table to unwrap and keep (a guaranteed win, unless you choose a rubbish present!)
Option 2: Put your name into a draw to win the jackpot money
Option 3: Put your name in a separate draw but this time to win the gifts not chosen
This is a fun version of Secret Santa where you never know what the outcome is going to be.
Make sure to plan your gift exchange during Christmas drinks or cook your own Christmas dinner and host a ‘friendmas’ as a great way of ending the first term at university, or a fun way to start the Christmas holidays at home.