Secret Santa Gifts for A Colleague You Barely Know: Ideas Under £15

Secret Santa gifts for a colleague you barely know

You drew someone from another floor and you are not going to fake familiarity. Buy for the desk rather than the person and use the card to be honest and warm about it.

Everything below sits inside a normal UK Secret Santa budget of £10 to £15, so nothing here makes anyone else's gift look small. The ideas are grouped by what usually works, what to steer clear of and how to handle the opening itself.

If you are still setting the draw up, the Secret Santa rules guide covers budgets, deadlines and drawing names, and our free name picker does the draw for you.

Secret Santa gifts under £15

Pin badges, candles, coasters and prints designed in house and posted from the UK — all comfortably inside a Secret Santa budget.

A typographic music print featuring Taylor Swift Bejewelled lyrics on high-quality paper, unframed. Best Believe I'm Still Bejewelled By Taylor Swift Music Lyrics Print £8.00 Unframed wall art print featuring the text 'In A World Of Grey, Be A Flamingo' in colourful, vibrant lettering. In A World Of Grey, Be A Flamingo Print (A4 & A3) £8.00 A colourful typographic wall art print with the quote 'I work hard so that my dog can live a better life' in A4 or A3. I Work Hard So That My Dog Can Live A Better Life Print (A4 & A3) £8.00 A colourful fitness wall print illustrating the HYROX competition race format with running and functional workout steps. Hyrox Competition Race Format Print (A4 & A3) £8.00 Enamel pin badge shaped like a red cowboy boot with the text What Would Dolly Do. What Would Dolly Do? Pin Badge £4.49 Small enamel pin badge with a funny "Chicken Nugget Club" design, perfect as a humorous novelty gift. Chicken Nugget Club Pin Badge (Small) £4.00

Shop Secret Santa gifts

Secret Santa gift ideas for a colleague you barely know

  1. A coaster. Every desk needs one and it needs no personal knowledge at all.
  2. A notebook and pen. The most-used objects in any building.
  3. Good coffee or chocolate. Consumable is the safest category when you know nothing.
  4. A neutral pin badge about the job rather than the person.
  5. A candle in a plain scent. Generous, ungendered, uncomplicated.
  6. A desk plant. Small, cheap, universally fine.
  7. A print with a typographic line rather than an image of anything specific.
  8. A card with a friendly, honest line — "we have not properly met, happy Christmas" beats a fake in-joke.

What to avoid

  • Guessing at hobbies from one overheard conversation.
  • Anything gendered based on their name or appearance.
  • Pretending to know them in the card.
  • Anything that needs sizing, taste or a shared reference.

Budget and etiquette

  • Ask the organiser for one wish-list line — that is what organisers are for.
  • Do not ask their team mates lots of questions; it gives you away.
  • Buy on the day you draw, not the night before.
  • Wrap it as well as you would for someone you know.

Shop Secret Santa gifts

Pin badges under a tenner

Small enough to post, funny enough to survive being opened in front of everyone.

Enamel pin badge shaped like a red cowboy boot with the text What Would Dolly Do. What Would Dolly Do? Pin Badge £4.49 Small enamel pin badge with a funny "Chicken Nugget Club" design, perfect as a humorous novelty gift. Chicken Nugget Club Pin Badge (Small) £4.00 Small, cute enamel pin badge in the shape of a daisy flower. Cute Small Daisy Pin Badge £4.00 Cute Cat With Pearl Ball Pin Badge Cute Cat With Pearl Ball Pin Badge £4.00 All Panic, No Disco Pin Badge For Emos All Panic, No Disco Pin Badge For Emos £4.00 Small Heart Notification Pin Badge Small Heart Notification Pin Badge £4.00 What Would Dolly Do? Small Pin Badge What Would Dolly Do? Small Pin Badge £4.49 Cute Duck In Pink Cowboy Hat And Boots Pin Badge Cute Duck In Pink Cowboy Hat And Boots Pin Badge £4.00

Christmas cards to go with it

A card turns a small gift into a proper present. Printed and posted in the UK.

'tis the season to drink Guinness Christmas Card 'tis the season to drink Guinness Christmas Card £3.87 Let's drink (Guinness) and be Merry Christmas Card With Tree Let's drink (Guinness) and be Merry Christmas Card With Tree £3.87 Let's drink (Guinness) and be merry Christmas Card Let's drink (Guinness) and be merry Christmas Card £3.87 Wishing you an Electrifying Christmas Greeting Card Wishing you an Electrifying Christmas Greeting Card £3.87 Merry Christmas Nanny (Christmas Card For Nan) Merry Christmas Nanny (Christmas Card For Nan) £3.87 Merry Christmas Mummy (Christmas Card For Mum) Merry Christmas Mummy (Christmas Card For Mum) £3.87 Merry Christmas Brother (Christmas Card For Brothers) Merry Christmas Brother (Christmas Card For Brothers) £3.87 Merry Christmas Daddy (Christmas Card For Dad) Merry Christmas Daddy (Christmas Card For Dad) £3.87

How to write it so it lands

  • Buy for the desk, not the personality.
  • Ask the organiser, not their friends.
  • Honesty in the card beats invented familiarity.

Where to shop next

Frequently asked questions

What do you buy for a colleague you do not know?

Buy for the desk: a coaster, notebook, pen, candle, plant or good coffee. All are useful, none require you to know anything about them.

Should you ask around about them?

One question to the organiser is fine. Asking their team mates several questions tends to reveal who drew them.

Is a gift card lazy?

Not when you genuinely do not know them. A small voucher plus a properly written card is more useful than an object they will not want.

How much should you spend on Secret Santa in the UK?

£10 to £15 at work and £15 to £20 in families. Agree one number rather than a range, and say up front whether the card and postage count towards it.

Back to blog