Secret Santa: how to make everyone happy

Do you know Secret Santa? It’s a nice tradition in which people in a group (work, society or class) are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a present. The important thing is that the identity of a giver is a secret – hence Secret Santa. To make everything fair and square, the value of the gifts is determined before.

As I say, it’s basically a nice tradition, however there is something that make this tradition problematic – very often people don’t know one another and really don’t know what to buy, so they go for a random gift (quite logically as it’s a random gift for a random person). That’s why I had usually dreaded this moment in December when one of my students would ask, Teacher, are we doing Secret Santa this year? and half of the class would be for, and half against.

And then, I had an idea. And the idea was so good I’ve never changed the main principle which is:

All the gifts should be hand-made

Believe me or not, this has turned the tables! And before you say Wait! I can’t even make a proper handmade thing! I’ve got two left hands! Plus, to be honest, I don’t like hand-made gifts… let me share with you the simple procedure that indeed made the whole idea not only work, but also indeed, make everyone happy. So here goes

The plan

The procedure is really simple:

1. I explain the idea of hand-made Secret Santa: it’s always nicer to receive something made especially for you rather than random thingummyjig, right?
2. I ask everyone to think about three handmade things they would like to get (here we browse the options: cards, jewelery, poem, story, picture, artsy stuff, pieces of clothes like scarves etc., funny items) plus (and that’s a lifesaver for some people): food. One of the items must be edible and easy to made and bring to class – that’s how the people who don’t enjoy crafting find something they can actually prepare.
3. I ask everyone to think about one handmade things they would detest to get
4. I write the list on the board: name of each student + the 3 things (including food) they like.
5. I do the lottery where everyone gets their random person assigned.
6. I ask students to memorise, write down or take photo of the things they should choose from (as, obviously, they are going to bring in only one gift, not three).
7. And then, we wait for the Secret Santa Day (usually 2 weeks later).

The result

Believe me, it’s a great feeling preparing a present for Secret Santa knowing that your gift will be appreciated, and the gift you’ll receive will be at least something you can eat.

I received things like chocolate cookies, a lovecraftian story with pictures, pictures, a puppet, earrings, sandwiches (I love sandwiches), pierogi and so on – and every single one of them made me smile. Probably the most unusual gift I’ve given was a cat finger puppet made with real cat fur (I’ve got three long-haired felines, so I’ve got plenty of the resource, and my student really really wanted to have a cat but parents said no), but I also baked cakes or cooked stuff.

However, the best side effect is that my students learnt many things about one another, as for once they actually listened to their classmates talking about their likes and dislikes – it’s obvious the more information you get during phases 2 and 3 of the procedure, the easier it will be do come up with the best gift (that’s why I do the lottery after everyone shares their preferences).

Dos and Don’ts

I hope you and your students will like my idea, but remember about the important rules:

• Don’t make your students participate in the activity if they don’t want to, but let them decide whether they like the idea or not (let them do all the negotiations!)
• Remember it’s all about fun and being kind
• Participate in the activity and be the most excited about it
• Be sure to thank the giver and pretend to not know who that is

I hope you’ll have a lot of fun!