Secret Santa

ladydriver

This year I had to find a suitable Secret Santa present under £5 for a new colleague, and all I know about her (apart from her name) is that she is vegan.

I daren’t buy ordinary chocolate or biscuits (they can contain milk) or toiletries (no animal-derived ingredients and nothing that might have been tested on animals), so I considered a lovely pashmina I saw at just the right price, until I discovered that pashmina is a form of cashmere and comes from animals….

Next I had the bright idea of a mushroom-growing kit, having seen some very interesting options on eBay. But I couldn’t find anything gift-like for less than £9.

Eventually I decided on a chilli-growing kit and I found one that comes with compost and a mini propagator, so everything is there ready to go. There is quite a range of these kind of things starting at just £3 or £4 and they are suitable gifts for all kinds of people – especially if you can find a small chilli/curry cookbook in the poundshop to go with it.

As a receiver of gifts, I like consumables (wine, soap, food, etc) because the last thing I need is more stuff cluttering up my house. As a giver of gifts, I like to buy things that are a bit interesting, hence the idea of kits.

For a woman with two children I might consider a candle-making kit, depending on the age of the kids. It is something they can do together and it’s not something most people will have done before.

For a gardener, with a White Christmas theme, I’d probably get some seeds – I’ve seen unusual-looking white carrots, white radish and albino beetroot as well as white chillis – and a ‘Head Gardener’ mug (£1 in Home Bargains last week).

LE3

ladydriver wrote: »

I considered a lovely pashmina I saw at just the right price, until I discovered that pashmina is a form of cashmere and comes from animals….

A "Pashmina" for <£5 is most definitely going to be acrylic not made from cashmere! It's become a generic name for a scarf thing not the original article ...

LE3

sax11 wrote: »

Say you made a donation to charity on their behalf and keep the fiver.

:shocked::huh: I'm glad I don't work with you!
I cannot think of anything worse than being around somebody who claims to "give to charity" but actually doesn't. Why bother pretending? Why not just say "I don't want to participate this year"

LE3

Strudel-pip wrote: »

We are doing a themed Secret Santa this year, and the theme is White Christmas. All I know about the person I have to buy for is that he is in his 40s - 50s and likes gardening, he's always bringing surplus of fruit and veg he's grown into the office. Any ideas?

There must be a variety of some plant called "White Christmas" but I can't think what off the top of my head ....
How about a pair of warm gloves & some of that "garden fleece" to protect his plants from frost (frost is white!)
or a couple of packs of seeds & maybe a white hyacinth bulb or white flowering Christmas cactus with a note "I couldn't quite get it to bloom for Christmas, but I hope you enjoy a white january"

Princ_ess

Asda have a lovely Yankee candle set for £5

http://direct.asda.com/Yankee-Candle-6-Votice-Gift-Set/001733839,default,pd.html

warehouse

I pulled my own name out of the hat one year and kept it quiet. Someone was kind enough to get a lovely bottle of whisky. Best present ever :rotfl:.

Otherwise go with the mug full of chocolates. I got exactly this for a lady in our office one year and she loves that mug, and still uses it now.

cazpumpkin

Strudel-pip wrote: »

We are doing a themed Secret Santa this year, and the theme is White Christmas. All I know about the person I have to buy for is that he is in his 40s - 50s and likes gardening, he's always bringing surplus of fruit and veg he's grown into the office. Any ideas?

a packet of seeds of a white flower or plant

lcbjcomc

motherhen2234 wrote: »

I have a £5 budget at my work too and have gone for a festive survival kits using some primark, B&M, pound land skills.

Mine has to be unisex so I went for:
Scented candle - to set the xmas scene and to cover any bad cooking smells
Xmas Tea Towel - because pots don't clean themselves
Selotape - Because you always run out at the last present
Xmas socks - to keep you cosy warm
Hot chocolate - to relax on xmas eve
Peppermint Tea - to settle your stomach after too much xmas pud
Lottery ticket - to hope you have a fab new year
Chocolate snowman - well you cant guarantee a white xmas

Hope this helps someone

I have used this idea for secret santa this week and it went down very well. The person was quite touched. Thankyou for the idea.:beer:

jessica-jane

Hi

I need to buy a secret santa present for a man in his 40's. We all gave hints what we wanted and his said something to use, consume or look at. The budget is 10 pounds but I don't really know what to get and I need to buy it before Friday as that's when are xmas do is. Any ideas?

The_Cre8tor

Something to consume:
All Sports Milk Chocolate Balls: £7.00 from The Great Gift Company
http://www.thegreatgiftcompany.com/misc_categories/gift_ideas/mens/all_sports_milk_chocolate_balls.htm

Something to use:
An Apology Pad: £4.00 from the same place
http://www.thegreatgiftcompany.com/misc_categories/gift_ideas/mens/apology_pad.htm

Bacon Tooth Floss (something to use) £3.00
http://www.thegreatgiftcompany.com/misc_categories/gift_ideas/mens/bacon_floss.htm
They also do Bacon Toothpaste; Bacon Soap and Bacon Plasters. ... and a big selection of other gift ideas: http://www.thegreatgiftcompany.com/misc_categories/gift_ideas/mens
..... but beware that the postage and packing is £4.95 for orders under £60, but spend over £60 and you get postage free. So factor the delivery charge into your spend.

Something to look at...
Something you could make pretty easily if you have either access to a typewriter (or a friend with one who will do this for you) or a computer and printer
http://img1.etsystatic.com/011/0/6707361/il_fullxfull.435355909_b97s.jpg
You just need to buy the frame, put in the printed out 'message' and voila!

Or .. you could do my favourite gift idea:
Something to look at + Something to use + Something to consume.......
Buy two cheap wine glasses - choose a nicely shaped glass but as cheap as you can get them. Then using Pebeo Porcelaine 150 or 160 paint on a decoration. I prefer a leafy vine, growing around the 'bulb' part of the glass, and then paint little flowers or if you aren't confident about painting flowers just paint dots to represent the flowers. Leave to dry completely for 24 hours, then pop them in your oven (just a regular domestic oven) for the recommended time and when 'cooked' turn the oven off and leave the glasses inside until the oven has cooled completely. (don't open the oven door because you could crack the glasses with the rush of cold air entering the oven.)

Buy a bottle of wine with the left over money - Aldi Moscato is really rather nice. £4.99 a bottle, (I've given this more than a handful of times to folks and every single person has come back to me and asked where I got it because they loved it!), carefully wrap your wine glasses, add to the box or bag in which you hand over your gift and put a big label on it saying "Handle with Care!". A totally unique gift - which goes down well with folks.

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