You’ve picked your name out the hat, and now the hard part starts. How do you choose the best ever Secret Santa gift for your colleague or family member? Don’t panic buy the first thing you see, there’s still time to max out the brownie points with our easy guide:
Gardening
Even people who don’t have an actual garden can still enjoy horticulture. How about making an indoor plant kit, with a plant pot and some seeds to grow. Just make sure that whatever you choose will remain indoors. Herbs are always a popular choice as they can be grown on sunny windowsills, as can tomatoes and chillis. If your gift recipient has some outdoor space, you can use the same idea for a patio planter or hanging basket kit.
Pet Lovers
Buying gifts for people with pets is super easy, as you get a choice of two recipients – the person or their pet! There’s plenty of novelty festive toys around, or how about a dress up costume? It’s probably best to steer away from food items for the pet, as you can never be too sure on allergies or special diets. For pet owners there’s all manner of photo gifts available, such as keyrings, coasters and even jigsaws. Or a personalised token with their pet’s name is bound to go down well.
Crafters
Lots of people have got in touch with their creative side lately, and if you’re confident between your cricut and cross-stitch then buying a craft gift can be easy. However, if you’re not entirely sure there are plenty of ‘make your own’ kits available for everything from sock puppets to intricate diamond art pictures (and who doesn’t love diamonds, right?). If you’re feeling adventurous, you could put together your own kit with craft supplies; the bargain shops are brilliant for this kind of thing.
Foodies
Don’t panic if you’re not a natural Nigella or Jamie, there are some easy gifts for food lovers that even the most novice chef can manage. If you have enough time in advance, why not make some homemade chilli jam, chutney or picallili, or get festive with cranberry sauce? Sterilise your jars carefully and ensure the lids are screwed on tight. Don’t forget a label too! There are lots of sweets treats that can be handmade too, like fudge and coconut ice. For baking fans, try measuring and layering the dry ingredients for cakes or biscuits in a large glass jar.
The personal touch
If you know your gift recipient well, it makes the task easier. You could make a mini hamper of their favourite sweets, snacks or treats, or a home movie kit for a night in. If you’re feeling creative, how about creating a picture of their family, or commissioning someone to do it for you! Photo collages are easy to put together with a multi photo frame and some print outs, plus adding a personal touch to the frame with crafty decorations.
If you don’t want to get that personal, a novelty slogan mug always goes down well and there are lots of options if you want to write your own. Ramp it up a gear with some posh coffee, tea and biscuits to go with it.