A good Secret Santa gift is one thing the recipient would never buy themselves but will genuinely use, which is why a make-your-own kit beats a novelty mug every time. The mug gets a laugh at the desk and lives in a cupboard by February, while a kit gets talked about in January when somebody brings the results into the office.
The budget is the whole game here. Secret Santa runs on a cap, the cap is usually modest, and almost everything that fits under it is either disposable or a joke. What follows is a short list of things that stay within a typical Secret Santa budget and still feel like presents, along with the honest question you should ask before buying any of them: will this person actually do something with it?
What makes a Secret Santa gift land?
Four tests, and a good gift passes at least three.
- It survives the unwrapping. Something that is funny for eleven seconds is a gift to the room, not to the person.
- It works for someone you barely know. Most Secret Santa names come out of a hat, so you need something that suits a wide range of people rather than something tailored to a hobby you are guessing at.
- It does not create work. No assembly instructions in six languages, no batteries missing, no obligation to display it on their desk forever.
- It leaves something behind. The best small gifts turn into an evening, a project or a bottle of something, rather than into clutter.
Making kits pass all four rather neatly, because the recipient chooses when to use them, the result is theirs, and nothing has to sit on a shelf being appreciated.
Which kits work best for Secret Santa?
These four sit comfortably in the usual price bracket and suit almost anyone.
The gin one, for the person who orders a G and T. The Gin Making Kit comes with juniper and a botanical blend built around bright citrus, lemongrass, lemon and orange peel, with coriander and allspice, plus the sieve, filter bags and bottling bits. They add a bottle of inexpensive vodka, leave it to infuse for under a week, strain, and they have made gin. There is no still and no distilling involved, which is exactly why it is legal to do at home.
The showy one, for the office extrovert. The Colour Changing Gin Kit uses blue pea flowers, which contain a natural dye that shifts with acidity: blue in the spirit, then pink or purple the moment tonic goes in. It infuses in about twelve hours and makes five bottles' worth, so it is the gift most likely to end up on somebody's phone at a party.
The rum one, for the person who does not drink gin. The Spiced Rum Making Kit makes two batches in two flavours, a classic Captain's blend and a Jamaican ginger with a real zing. They add a bottle of inexpensive dark rum, infuse for around 72 hours, filter, let it settle and filter again. Under a week, start to finish.
The ambitious one, for the colleague with a hobby habit. The Hedgerow Wine Making Kit turns blackberries, elderberries, apples, plums, rhubarb and more into proper country wine, with a recipe table covering a long list of fruits. Be honest with yourself before choosing this one: it takes 8 to 12 weeks, and they will need a fermenting bucket and something with an airlock if they do not already own them. For the right person, that is the appeal.
One quietly useful detail for an office draw: none of our kits contain alcohol. They contain ingredients, equipment and instructions, so there is no age restriction on buying the box, and nothing awkward about it being opened in a meeting room.
What else works within the budget?
A gift guide that only points at its own shelf is not much of a guide, so here are the non-kit ideas that genuinely earn their place at Secret Santa money.
- Really good coffee or tea. A single bag of freshly roasted beans from a local roaster, or a proper loose leaf tea, beats a big tin of the ordinary stuff.
- A decent pepper grinder or a jar of flaky sea salt. Unglamorous, used daily, quietly upgrades every meal they cook.
- Seeds or bulbs. Chilli seeds, herbs for a windowsill, or a bag of spring bulbs. Cheap, hopeful and seasonal.
- A card game. The kind that comes out at Christmas and stays out. Look for one that plays in twenty minutes.
- A proper notebook or a good pen. Safe, but the reliable kind of safe rather than the boring kind.
- Something edible and specific. A jar of very good honey, a bar of single origin chocolate, an interesting hot sauce. Consumables never become clutter.
What to avoid: scented candles nobody asked for, anything with a photo of a colleague on it, and any gadget that needs charging. The novelty mug is a cliche for a reason, and the reason is that it is the path of least resistance at half past eight the night before.
How should you present it?
Wrap it properly, even for Secret Santa. A kit in a gift bag with the receipt still in it looks like an errand; the same kit wrapped with a tag looks like a decision.
Write the tag as an invitation rather than an explanation. "Make me a gin and I will forgive the meeting overrun" does more work than a description of the contents ever will, and it tells the recipient what they are supposed to do with the box.
If you are buying for a colleague you will not see before the day, you can send a kit straight to them by entering their address as the delivery address at checkout. Our kits are hand-packed in Britain, which is a pleasant thing to be able to say when somebody asks where it came from.
Secret Santa FAQs
Are making kits a safe Secret Santa gift for someone I do not know well?
Generally yes, because the recipient decides when and whether to use them, and food and drink kits suit a broad range of people. If you know they do not drink, the food and craft kits are the safer draw.
Do the drinks kits contain alcohol?
No. None of our kits contain alcohol, so there is no age restriction on buying one. The recipient supplies the spirit, vodka for gin and inexpensive dark rum for spiced rum.
How quickly can someone use a kit after Christmas?
Very quickly for most of them. Colour changing gin infuses in about twelve hours, spiced rum takes around 72 hours plus settling, and the standard gin kit is done in under a week. Wine is the long game at 8 to 12 weeks.
Can I have the gift sent straight to the recipient?
Yes. Enter their address as the delivery address at checkout and the kit goes directly to them.
What should I avoid buying for Secret Santa?
Anything that only works as a joke, anything that requires the recipient to display it, and anything strongly personal. Consumables, projects and small upgrades to everyday things are the reliable categories.
Stuck for a name out of the hat? Browse our gift kits and pick something they will actually use.
