Secret Santa messages and gift swap notes
A good Secret Santa note answers four questions: how much to spend, when and where gifts are swapped, how to wrap them, and what to keep secret. These 28 notes are written for offices, families and friends, remote teams and classrooms.
Budgets are written as plain numbers so you can add your own currency. Change the amounts and dates to match your group, then press Use this wish to put the note in the scratch-off card tool. Remember to add the name each person drew, and send each link privately. Press Copy to use a note in an email or group message instead.
28 wishes in 5 groups: Office and workplace, Friends and family, Remote teams, Fun rules, Classrooms and kids.
Office and workplace
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Budget is 15 per gift. Wrap it, add no name and bring it to the office party on Friday. Keep your match secret until then.
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Please spend between 10 and 20. Gifts go under the tree in the kitchen by Thursday. We open them together at 3 pm on Friday.
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Something small, kind and useful is perfect. Keep it under 20 and keep it work-friendly. We swap gifts at the team lunch.
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Gifts are due on the 18th. Add a small label with the first letter of their name so nothing gets mixed up. Budget is 15.
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Be thoughtful, not expensive. Our limit is 20. If you are stuck for ideas, ask their friends at work for a hint.
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Shh! This is a secret until the party. Keep it under 15 and wrap it well. We open gifts at the end of the team meeting.
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Thank you for joining in! The budget is 20, and homemade gifts are very welcome. Gifts are opened on the last working day before the break.
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Pick something you would like to receive yourself: a treat, a plant, a mug or a good pen. Budget is 15. Please avoid anything that could be awkward.
Friends and family
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Our family Secret Santa is on Christmas Eve. One gift each, under 20, wrapped and without a name. Please keep your match a secret.
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Budget is 10. Homemade, secondhand or silly are all welcome. We open them together after dinner.
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Pick something your person will actually use. Under 25, please. We will open gifts at our friends' dinner on Saturday the 19th.
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Do not tell anyone who you got, not even your partner. Spend 15 or less and bring the gift to Grandma's on Sunday.
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Write a little clue on the tag instead of a name, and we will guess the giver. Keep it under 20 and keep it fun.
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Give something small and kind. Our rule is one thing to eat and one thing to keep, under 20 in total.
Remote teams
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Our team is remote, so please send your gift by the 14th. Budget is 20, and I will share the address privately. We reveal the givers on a video call.
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Order something small and ship it directly to your match by the 14th. Keep it under 20. We will open them together on the last video call of the year.
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Digital gifts work too. Under 15 for a coffee card, an e-book or a streaming treat. Please send it by email by the 17th.
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Please post your gift in time for it to arrive before the break. Spend 20 or less, and do not include your name. We reveal givers in the team chat on the 21st.
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Time zones are tricky, so there is no live swap. Send your gift by the 12th, keep it under 20, and we will share photos in the team channel.
Fun rules
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The rules are simple: keep it under 15, wrap it and make it a surprise. Bonus points for a gift that makes them laugh.
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Gift ideas that always work: snacks, socks, a good candle or something that matches their hobby. Budget 15. Tell no one.
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This is a no-regifting zone and a no-gossip zone. Keep it under 20 and keep it kind. The reveal is at the end of the party.
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Your mission, should you choose to accept it: find a gift under 15 that is thoughtful and a tiny bit funny. Keep it secret.
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Warning: your match may try to figure out who you are. Stay calm, deny everything and keep your gift under 20.
Classrooms and kids
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Please bring a small wrapped gift worth no more than 5. It does not need a name on it. We will swap them at the class party.
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A homemade gift is just as good as a bought one. Keep it under 10 and bring it wrapped to the party on the last day of term.
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Please check for allergies before choosing sweets. A small toy, a book or some stickers are lovely. Keep it under 10.
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This is a secret until the party! Make or choose something kind for your match and keep it under 5.
Make it play, not just read
Pick any wish above, or write your own, and share it as one link that opens as a scratch-off card.
Make a Secret Santa wishRead next
- How to Run a Secret Santa: Rules, Budget and Etiquette: A step-by-step plan for organizing a Secret Santa for a team, family or friends: setting the budget, drawing names fairly and keeping it kind.