Secret Santa is a pain in the posterior!

Was there not a set amount to spend on the gift you buy decided on in advance Desdemona, that has always been the case when I’ve been in a Secret Santa?

If you tell us a bit about the person you have drawn and the amount, I’m sure the clever Gransnetters will come up with some gift ideas for you.

We were always given a price limit when I was at work so say all presents to be of the value £10 or whatever
I never found it a problem

Can you ask what the expected value is.
We have done this in the past with workmates and friends.
There have been themes such as the most tacky gift up to £5.00
Most ugly gift
Something drinkable or edible.
The most garish Christmas bauble.
Something homemade ( that one was a nightmare for useless me).
Why don’t you suggest a theme to make it easier for everyone.

There was no maximum spend. Said a minimum of £10.

I think people will take that as you spend £10-11 then. How old and which sex are you to buy for?

Desdemona

There was no maximum spend. Said a minimum of £10.

Well that's a bit cheeky 🥺
Can you agree amongst yourselves to make that the maximum spend?

As above, apart from the spending limit, usually £10, we used to have a theme such as a colour.

Pop over to GN, there’s a thread at the moment for a £10 SS, some great ideas.

Do what I did . We had a large Christmas party for different branches and you might have no idea of who the person was you were buying for . Even worse the ladies had to sit on the HR manager's knees to get your gift. I started not putting my name in the hat so did not draw one out and nobody twigged what I had done .

I thought secret Santa was where you’re told the spend limit and then you all get one named person to buy for.
I hate it and can’t see the point. My d in laws family do it but I think it feels strangely impersonal as you don’t know who’s given it to you. Personally I prefer to give a present openly….or not at all….

I did it with my netball ladies one year £5 limit to be spent in a charity shop- lots of coffee mugs. We enjoyed the challenge.

We have done this as a family for the last few years and it’s great!
There are only six of us but it’s really nice to be able to concentrate on one person and treat them to something nice.

We had a really fun secret Santa. Everything had to come from the pound shop. It was great, a real laugh.

We’ve done it a few times…. £ shop and £5 maximum… bit bad when they haven’t put a limit on… is it to late to suggest it?

I could never find anything I considered nice for £10 until I found a light up Xmas tin with biscuits in M&S. the person that got it said their daughter keeps it in her bedroom and loved it, they ate the biscuits of course.

I love Secret Santa. It shouldn't be made heavy weather of and there must of course be a distinct price limit, upper and lower. No sweat!

Menopauselbitch

I could never find anything I considered nice for £10 until I found a light up Xmas tin with biscuits in M&S. the person that got it said their daughter keeps it in her bedroom and loved it, they ate the biscuits of course.

I have been given one of these by a charity I volunteer with as a thank-you gift for the last 3 years. One contained a pack of tea which I gave to my DiL as I never drink it but the biscuits were nice. Now that has given me an idea for a gift for my grandchildren as I can find some small things to put in each of the nicer ones and they can have them in their bedrooms as a night light. I never put them on so it will be a bit of clutter gone!
Workplaces always did secret santa and one year the person who drew my name obviously didn't know who I was, so my name was spelt Joe, the male way, not Jo and I was given a rather masculine styled mug!
One place I worked you just put a gift for someone of your own sex in a sack. On the day we all just picked one from the correct sack. It got around the issue of buying something tacky if you drew the name of the supervisor you couldn't stand - as happened to me one year!

A bottle good for both sexes.

For our ladies lunch this year everyone bought 2 x £5 scratch cards, everyone took 2 from the pile. Bit of fun and a few wins, no big ones that I know off, let's see who goes on a big holiday next year. Lol.

Did this at work secretly drawing the recipient's name from a hat and there was always a maximum cost set.

Another thing that makes me glad I’m not at work anymore!

Type in secret santa £10 to the big river website. It will throw up lots of suggestions 🤔

We do this for adults in our family. We set a limit and everyone makes a wishlist with something called Elfsta which decides who your person will be. It's easy and helps with finances at Christmas, plus of course you get a gift you really want. We all buy for the children who i suspect end up with rather more than they would have got if we still bought for all the adults.

When I was last in full time employment (14 years ago) we had a secret Santa where we had to spend no more than £1. That was a challenge but it was amazing what people came up with and funny too. The Pound Shop was very handy.