Organize A Secret Santa In 5 Questions
During the holiday season with family, friends or colleagues, it is sometimes more practical to organize a Secret Santa to limit the gift budget. If you don't know what this means, we explain how to organize a Secret Santa in 5 questions.
1- What is the principle?
The Secret Santa or Secret Santa in English is a Christmas tradition that comes to us from Anglo-Saxon countries. It is an exchange of Christmas gifts within a group of people (family, friends or colleagues) that is based on a draw.
Each participant draws the name of a person for whom they must find a gift. Each person also receives a gift from a randomly designated person in the group, so it doesn't have to be the same person!
Did you know?
The exchange of gifts according to the principle of drawing lots is also called 'Canadian Christmas' in other French-speaking countries or 'cacahuète' in Belgium. At this time of year, don't be surprised if you hear Belgians talking about 'tirer la cacahuète'!
2- What are the advantages of this formula?
The first advantage of Secret Santa is that it is playful. As the name suggests, you have to keep it a secret and no participant is supposed to know who is going to give him a gift...
This solution is also more practical and economical when celebrating the holiday season with many colleagues, family members or friends.
Thanks to the random draw that matches a giver and a receiver in a random way, there is no need to spoil everyone and make big expenses.
Each member of the group is responsible for finding a gift for just one person, which is much easier and cheaper. But in the end, no one is left out as each participant has their 'Secret Santa'!
3- How to organize a Secret Santa?
If you are the organizer of a company party for example, you can take advantage of this opportunity to set up a secret Santa.
To do this, you need to start by addressing the list of all the party attendees, in our example, all the staff members. Then you need to write the names of the people on small pieces of paper and shuffle them into a container for the drawing.
Set the rules of the game and the value of the gifts (which usually ranges from €5 to €25) then ask everyone to draw a name and keep the identity of the recipient a secret...
As a general rule, keep it a secret until the day of the gift exchange. When a person opens their gift, they should not know who it is from and that is the whole point of the game! The identity of the giver is always revealed afterwards.
4- Is it possible to give a gift that is out of sync?
The whole difficulty when you want to play Secret Santa is finding a fun and hopefully personalized gift for someone you don't necessarily know very well, like an office mate or a distant cousin...
In some companies, the Secret Santa is an opportunity to offer unusual and offbeat gifts. Humor is then the order of the day with unlikely socks or ties, humorous comics and gift ideas that are out of the ordinary.
But beware, some corporate Christmas parties are much more traditional. So, to avoid making a mistake on the big day, find out beforehand to be in tune with the holiday atmosphere in your company!
5- What gift to offer for a Secret Santa?
One of the keys to a successful Secret Santa is that each participant receives an appropriate gift, without bad jokes or embarrassing innuendo.
If you're not inspired to play Secret Santa, here are some gift ideas that are always fun:
- for a gourmand, a box of very good chocolates (more or less big depending on the budget) or delicatessen products (jams, gingerbread or marrons glacés for example)
- for a bon vivant colleague, a bottle of wine or champagne
- for a colleague who is careful about her figure, a Christmas tea or a box of several teas
- for a coquette, soft beauty products such as a moisturizing hand cream and/or a shower oil with a discreet perfume
- for a colleague with a sense of humor, Christmas socks or a Christmas sweater with an unusual design
- for a colleague whose tastes you don't know, a beautiful mug with a sober design for drinking coffee at the office or a stationery accessory.
