Secret Santa Shopping Tips

Secret Santa Shopping Tips
by FiGuy


You've been designated someone's Secret Santa. Here are a few tips to help you fulfill your role, without having to work at it too hard...


If there is an established limit on spending, keep to it. While things you might like to receive yourself can be a good place to start, remember that tastes do vary, and the person you are buying for may not share yours.

Try to keep your gifts practical and useful, it will be appreciated. Stay away from gag gifts, and decorative or cutesy items. That singing teddy bear might be adorable, but the novelty will wear off quickly. After that it collects dust or winds up in the landfill. Also avoid beauty or hygiene items - you'll almost never get the right brands, and you might accidentally send the wrong message: you stink! you're ugly and your mother dresses you funny! etc.


Edible is credible. Most people enjoy getting good things to eat. Unless you know for certain the person likes fruitcake (I'm one of those weird people who does), avoid it. There are more complaints and jokes about fruitcake than just about any other holiday gift. Try to find out if the person you are buying for has any special needs before you buy. Do they have allergies? Are they diabetic? Do they observe a restricted diet for religious or personal reasons (Kosher, Vegan, etc.)? You don't want to give a glazed ham to someone that doesn't eat pork, and those premium steaks won't go over well with a vegetarian! Chocolate is overdone, but there is a reason for that, and sometimes a cliche will work in your favor.


Consider giving an assortment of small items, and perhaps throwing in a bar of chocolate or some candy to sweeten the deal. This increases your odds of hitting on some item that they will like and use, and you have the tasty treat as a backup in case you missed. Are they always borrowing something from their co-workers? Clue!

Go spy on their workplace for some other hints. Do they have lots of pictures of their family? Perhaps a small electronic picture frame would make a nice gift. Page-a-day calendars are almost always useful. Is their workplace plastered with Dilbert or Garfield cartoons? Bingo! Do they have quotes and inspirational sayings tacked up? Bingo! Now you can pick out a calendar to match their tastes.

Flash thumb drives, those little memory gadgets that plug into a USB port, are a wonderful item that has come down into Secret Santa price range. They come in all sorts of colors and graphic schemes these days, and are quite useful. Unless the person you are buying for already has a drawer full of them, this item should go over quite well.


Keep it simple, try to tailor to the person you are buying for, have fun with it. A little creativity, and a little snooping, can have everyone commenting on what a wonderful gift you picked out - and even if they don't know who did the picking, you'll know and feel good about it.

Now go out and stimulate the economy!