Secret Santa gift ideas – under $10, $25 and $50

How much to spend? Typical budgets by occasion and how to agree on one.

Secret Santa gifts under $10

1. Christmas socks. Reindeer or gingerbread men: they fit everyone, from a preschooler to the boss.
2. A tree ornament. A bauble or a wooden star that comes out of the box again every December.
3. Hot chocolate with marshmallows. For whoever is always cold; in a small jar it looks homemade.
4. A pocket notebook. For the to-do list on a desk at work or for secret notes at school.
5. A coloring or sticker book. For kindergarten and the first grades, for long winter afternoons.
6. Crayons or markers. A fresh box for a young artist; with a coloring page it is a whole gift.
7. A chocolate Santa or candy canes. The sweet classic for anyone; check for allergies first.
8. A keychain flashlight. Handy on dark December evenings, on the way to school or home from work.
9. Mini hand cream and lip balm. A small winter rescue for dry hands, at the office or outdoors.

Secret Santa gifts under $25

1. A card game. Quick to learn, for a lunch break or a family evening; with pictures for the little ones.
2. A tea sampler. A few flavors in one box: a safe gift for a coworker you don't know well.
3. A 500- or 1000-piece puzzle. A winter picture for long evenings; for kids, fewer and bigger pieces.
4. A clip-on LED book light. For a grown-up who reads in bed, or a kid who reads under the covers.
5. A scented candle. Cinnamon, orange or pine: a simple gift that always gets used.
6. Touchscreen gloves. They work with a phone, for whoever walks to work or to school.
7. A small building brick set. An evening of building for a preschooler or a grade-schooler.
8. A puzzle book. Sudoku, crosswords or mazes, in a version for grown-ups or for kids.
9. Modeling clay or a slime kit. For kids who like to make things with their hands.
10. An insulated tumbler. Coffee stays hot on the way to work, cocoa on a school trip.

Secret Santa gifts under $50

1. A board game. A family or party game; for kids, a cooperative one, where nobody loses.
2. A fleece blanket or a warm scarf. For winter evenings on the couch: right for almost anyone.
3. A craft kit. Candle making, embroidery or painting by numbers, for grown-ups and older kids.
4. Earbuds or a small wireless speaker. Music while working, or on the way to school.
5. A night light. Shaped like an animal or the moon: for a preschooler afraid of the dark, or for a desk.
6. A bath set. Bath bombs, lotion and salts: a quiet evening for a coworker.
7. A book. A novel for a grown-up, a picture book for a preschooler; the letter to Santa tells you which kind.
8. A coffee sampler. A few small bags from around the world, for the coffee lover of the office.
9. A desk organizer. For a coworker or a student who has just got a new desk.
10. A science kit. Crystals, a volcano or a kids' microscope, for curious grade-schoolers.

The best gift is the one from the letter to Santa

Rather than guess, read what they wish for. On santa.haus everyone on the list writes a letter to Santa: a wish, a link to the shop, a photo. The organizer can set a budget that everyone sees, so nobody spends too much or too little. And after the draw, Santa can ask about the size or the colour, without giving themselves away.

Not sure what to write in yours? The Secret Santa questionnaire has the questions your Santa would ask.

Rather something to laugh at? Funny Secret Santa has joke gift ideas and the rules of the dice game.

Need a rhyme for the gift tag? Secret Santa poems

Making an advent calendar instead of one gift? Advent calendar: make one online, or fill one at home.

On a small budget? Print a gift voucher for time together.

Planning the whole of Christmas? Print a Christmas planner with a gift list and a checklist.

Giving a book? Print a bookmark from Secret Santa to go inside.