Secret Santa Games Ideas: Fun & Creative Gift Exchange

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the required items and step-by-step instructions for each of the Secret Santa games you listed:

1. Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Items Required:

• Name list of participants
• Budget for gifts
• Secret Santa names (randomly assigned)

How to Play:

1. Each participant draws a name (or uses an online generator) to determine who they will be buying a gift for.
2. Set a budget for the gift exchange.
3. Each participant buys a gift for their assigned person.
4. At the event, everyone exchanges gifts, and people try to guess who their Secret Santa is.

2. Guess Who? Secret Santa

Items Required:

• Name list of participants
• Gifts
• A way to track gift assignments

How to Play:

1. Each person buys a gift for their assigned person without revealing who they are.
2. After opening the gifts, participants guess who their Secret Santa is based on the gift received.

3. Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt

Items Required:

• List of clues leading to hidden gifts
• Gifts
• Locations for hiding gifts

How to Play:

1. Organize a scavenger hunt by hiding the Secret Santa gifts around the venue.
2. Provide clues or riddles to lead participants to their gifts.
3. Each participant finds their gift based on the clues.

4. Christmas Trivia Secret Santa

Items Required:

• Christmas trivia questions
• Gift wrapping
• List of participants

How to Play:

1. Create a list of Christmas trivia questions (e.g., “What is Santa’s reindeer named after a famous Christmas carol?”).
2. Ask each participant a question.
3. If they answer correctly, they can open a gift from their Secret Santa.

5. Mystery Riddle Gift Exchange

Items Required:

• Riddles associated with each gift
• Gifts wrapped with a riddle attached
• Gift labels with the riddle’s answer

How to Play:

1. Participants receive a gift with a riddle attached.
2. Before opening, they must solve the riddle to guess what the gift might be.
3. Once the riddle is solved, they open the gift.

6. DIY Secret Santa Challenge

Items Required:

• Crafting supplies (e.g., glue, scissors, markers)
• Gifts for each person
• A time limit

How to Play:

1. Set a crafting challenge (e.g., decorate or personalize the gift).
2. Each person must DIY their gift to make it more unique.
3. Exchange the DIY gifts during the party.

7. Gift Wrapping Contest

Items Required:

• Wrapping paper
• Tape, scissors, ribbons, and gift boxes
• A timer

How to Play:

1. Give participants a set time (e.g., 5 minutes) to wrap a gift.
2. Participants must wrap their gift as beautifully as possible.
3. The best-wrapped gift wins a prize.

8. Gift Guessing Game

Items Required:

• Gifts wrapped without labels
• Pen and paper for guesses

How to Play:

1. Each participant wraps a gift and writes a vague description of the gift (e.g., “something soft”).
2. Others take turns guessing what each gift might be.
3. The person who guesses the most gifts correctly wins.

9. Reverse Secret Santa

Items Required:

• List of participants
• Gifts
• Gift tags for labeling

How to Play:

1. Participants purchase gifts for someone else but without revealing their identity.
2. Each gift comes with a clue that reveals the giver’s identity.
3. The person receiving the gift tries to guess their Secret Santa based on the clue.

10. Secret Santa Bingo

Items Required:

• Bingo cards (with holiday-themed items or gifts written on them)
• Markers to mark off items
• Small prizes for winners

How to Play:

1. Create bingo cards with items typically received as Secret Santa gifts.
2. Call out the items one at a time.
3. Participants mark the corresponding squares on their bingo cards.
4. The first person to complete a row or column wins.

11. Themed Gift Exchange

Items Required:

• Themed gift ideas (e.g., Christmas-themed gifts, food-themed gifts)
• Participants aware of the theme

How to Play:

1. Set a specific theme for the gift exchange (e.g., all gifts must be related to Christmas movies).
2. Participants buy gifts that fit the theme.
3. Exchange the gifts, and discuss the theme connection during the reveal.

12. Secret Santa with a Twist

Items Required:

• Regular Secret Santa gift setup
• Twist elements (e.g., “ugly gift,” “regifted gift”)

How to Play:

1. Set a twist, such as everyone must buy an “ugly” gift or regift something they already own.
2. The twist makes the exchange more fun and unpredictable.
3. Participants try to guess who bought what.

13. Secret Santa Auction

Items Required:

• List of gifts for auction
• Play money or tickets for bidding

How to Play:

1. Instead of a traditional gift exchange, have a “Secret Santa auction” where participants use play money or tickets to bid on gifts.
2. The highest bidder wins the gift.
3. After the auction, everyone tries to guess who their Secret Santa is.

14. White Elephant Secret Santa

Items Required:

• A variety of funny or random gifts
• A drawing for order of selection

How to Play:

1. Everyone brings a gift to the party, typically a funny or inexpensive one.
2. Participants draw numbers to determine the order in which they will select gifts.
3. The first person picks a gift and opens it.
4. Each subsequent person can either take a new gift or “steal” an already opened gift.

15. Something You Already Have Gift Exchange

Items Required:

• Items participants already own that are still in good condition

How to Play:

1. Participants must choose a gift they already own but no longer need or use.
2. Each gift must be wrapped.
3. At the party, everyone picks a gift to open, and they must guess who gave it.

16. Gift Swap Challenge

Items Required:

• Gifts
• A timer
• Play money or tickets for “swapping” gifts

How to Play:

1. Everyone brings a wrapped gift to the party.
2. Participants randomly draw numbers to decide the order of swapping.
3. Each person can either choose a new gift or “swap” with someone who has already opened a gift.
4. The challenge is to get the best gift by the end of the game, based on clever swaps.

17. Guess the Price Secret Santa

Items Required:

• Gifts wrapped with no price tags
• Pen and paper for guesses

How to Play:

1. Each participant buys a gift and hides the price.
2. During the gift exchange, each person guesses the price of the gift they received.
3. After all guesses, the price is revealed, and the person who guesses the closest wins a small prize.

18. Secret Santa Secret Words

Items Required:

• Secret words for each participant
• Gifts
• List of participants and their assigned words

How to Play:

1. Each participant is assigned a “secret word” related to the holidays (e.g., snow, mistletoe).
2. The goal is to drop the secret word into conversation while giving their gift.
3. If someone guesses the word, they earn points, and the person who uses their word most cleverly wins a prize.

19. Office Secret Santa Game

Items Required:

• Gift list
• Office-appropriate gift ideas
• Secret Santa names (randomly assigned)

How to Play:

1. Set a budget and guidelines for office-appropriate gifts.
2. Draw names or use an online generator to assign Secret Santa gifts.
3. Exchange gifts at the office party, and try to guess who each person’s Secret Santa is.

20. Holiday Song Secret Santa

Items Required:

• A list of holiday songs
• Gifts wrapped with no names

How to Play:

1. Each participant brings a gift but wraps it without a name tag.
2. Instead of revealing the name of the giver, participants play a holiday song and guess who the gift is from based on their song association.
3. Participants can use clues from the song lyrics to help them guess.

21. Secret Santa Elf Game

Items Required:

• Secret Santa gifts
• Elf costumes or elf hats (optional)

How to Play:

1. Participants play the role of Santa’s little elves.
2. Everyone gets into the “elf” spirit by wearing hats or costumes.
3. Gifts are exchanged secretly, but the giver remains in their elf character until the reveal.

22. Gift Wrap Relay Race

Items Required:

• Wrapping paper
• Tape, scissors, and gift boxes
• A timer

How to Play:

1. Set up a relay race where participants must race to wrap a gift.
2. Each person takes turns wrapping and passing the gift along to the next person.
3. The team that wraps the gift the fastest wins.

23. DIY Ornament Exchange

Items Required:

• Ornament-making supplies (paint, glitter, glue, etc.)
• Blank ornaments or ornament kits
• Gifts wrapped for exchange

How to Play:

1. Participants create a handmade ornament for someone else.
2. After crafting, the ornaments are exchanged.
3. Everyone guesses which ornament came from whom.

24. Santa’s Workshop Challenge

Items Required:

• Craft supplies (glue, scissors, construction paper)
• Small gifts or toys to assemble

How to Play:

1. Participants must assemble a toy or craft a small gift for their assigned person.
2. The person who creates the best gift or toy, according to the group, wins a prize.

25. Secret Santa Charades

Items Required:

• Charades cards with holiday-related prompts
• Gifts
• Timer

How to Play:

1. Participants draw a holiday-related charades card and act out the gift they bought for their Secret Santa.
2. The other participants guess the gift.
3. After guessing, the gift is opened.

26. Secret Santa Riddle Hunt

Items Required:

• Riddles associated with each gift
• Gifts
• Envelopes to hide riddles

How to Play:

1. Each participant gets a riddle that hints at the gift they will receive.
2. They try to solve the riddle and identify their gift before opening it.
3. Once the riddle is solved, the gift is revealed.

27. Christmas Pictionary Secret Santa

Items Required:

• Whiteboard or large paper
• Pictionary cards (holiday-themed)
• Markers

How to Play:

1. Participants play Pictionary with holiday-themed prompts.
2. Each time a participant guesses correctly, they get a gift from their Secret Santa.
3. The game continues until everyone has received their gift.

28. Secret Santa Prize Pool

Items Required:

• A collection of small, fun prizes
• A spinning wheel (optional)

How to Play:

1. All participants contribute a small prize to a prize pool.
2. During the gift exchange, participants choose a gift randomly or spin a wheel to determine which prize to receive.
3. The prizes can be anything fun, from toys to gift cards.

29. Themed Costume Secret Santa

Items Required:

• Costumes or themed attire (e.g., Santa, elves)
• Gifts
• A set theme for the party

How to Play:

1. Participants dress up according to a set theme (e.g., “Santa’s Helpers”).
2. Everyone exchanges gifts while staying in character.
3. The best costume is voted on, and the winner gets a prize.

30. Secret Santa Secret Notes

Items Required:

• Notecards with holiday messages or clues
• Gifts

How to Play:

1. Each participant leaves a secret note with their gift, providing clues or a heartfelt message.
2. When opening the gift, the recipient reads the note and tries to guess who their Secret Santa is.

31. Silent Night Secret Santa

Items Required:

• Gifts
• A space for everyone to sit quietly

How to Play:

1. During the exchange, participants are not allowed to speak.
2. The fun challenge is trying to guess who gave the gift based on body language or small clues without words.

32. Santa’s Helper Gift Relay

Items Required:

• Wrapped gifts
• Gift bags
• Timer

How to Play:

1. Participants race to pass gifts to each other while being “Santa’s helpers.”
2. Each person must hand the gift to another, and the last person must wrap it for the gift exchange.

33. Gift Lottery Secret Santa

Items Required:

• A lottery system (tickets or random draw)
• Gifts

How to Play:

1. Each person is assigned a lottery ticket or number.
2. The numbers are drawn randomly, and participants select gifts in the order they are called.
3. The person who chooses last gets the final gift.

34. Matching Gifts Secret Santa

Items Required:

• A variety of gifts
• Name tags with gift choices

How to Play:

1. Each participant selects a gift from a pool and matches it with another participant’s preferences.
2. Everyone tries to guess who picked their gift based on personal preferences.

35. Holiday Memory Game Secret Santa

Items Required:

• Holiday-themed memory game cards
• Small gifts

How to Play:

1. Play a memory game with holiday-themed items or events.
2. Each time a player matches a pair, they get a small gift from their Secret Santa.

36. Secret Santa Matching Challenge

Items Required:

• List of participants and gift preferences
• A time limit to buy the gift

How to Play:

1. Match the perfect gift for each person based on a brief questionnaire of their interests.
2. The challenge is to find the best match for each person within the given time.

Secret Santa Game Ideas for Family

1. Gift Wrapping Relay – Family members race to wrap gifts, and the fastest wins.
2. Holiday Movie Quiz – Watch a holiday movie and answer trivia questions related to it to earn gift points.
3. Christmas Charades – Act out Christmas-related things while others guess.
4. Guess the Christmas Carol – Play snippets of Christmas carols and guess the song.
5. DIY Christmas Craft Swap – Make your own holiday crafts to swap as gifts.
6. Secret Santa Scavenger Hunt – Hide gifts around the house with clues to lead to them.
7. Mystery Box Exchange – Gifts are hidden in mystery boxes, and participants choose one to open without knowing what’s inside.
8. Holiday Pictionary – Play Pictionary with Christmas-related prompts.
9. Christmas Bingo – Use holiday-themed cards and markers to play Bingo.
10. Themed Costume Secret Santa – Dress up in holiday-themed costumes while exchanging gifts.
11. Secret Santa Gift Reveal – Family members give and receive gifts without revealing who gave what.
12. Christmas Bingo with Tasks – Each gift comes with a holiday-themed task that the recipient must complete.
13. Re-gifting Challenge – Re-gift an item you own, but make it creative or funny.
14. Gift Guessing Game – Guess who gave each gift after it’s unwrapped.
15. Holiday Puzzle Exchange – Exchange pieces of a puzzle and work together to complete it.
16. Themed Food Gift Exchange – Family members give food-related gifts based on a theme (e.g., baking or holiday treats).

Secret Santa Game Ideas for Friends

1. Guess the Price of the Gift – Friends guess the price of the gift before opening it.
2. Secret Santa Riddle Hunt – Include a riddle or clue with the gift that leads to the next.
3. Gift Swap Challenge – Swap gifts among the group and try to get the best one.
4. Holiday Song Secret Santa – Guess who gave the gift based on a holiday song hint.
5. Secret Santa Charades – Act out clues or gifts to give hints about who the gift is from.
6. Emoji Gift Clue – The gift giver provides an emoji clue for the recipient to guess the gift.
7. Reverse Secret Santa – Instead of receiving gifts, you give them and try to guess who each gift is for.
8. Holiday Memory Challenge – Share a holiday memory, and everyone guesses which gift matches the story.
9. DIY Gift Exchange – Friends create DIY gifts for each other, keeping it personal and creative.
10. Ugly Sweater Secret Santa – Everyone wears an ugly sweater while exchanging gifts, and the best one wins a prize.
11. Gift Lottery Secret Santa – Draw tickets to select gifts from the pile.
12. Secret Santa Word Scramble – Each person gets a scrambled word or phrase related to the holidays and has to figure it out to get their gift.
13. Christmas-Themed Scavenger Hunt – Hide gifts around the house with clues to lead to them.
14. Santa’s Workshop Challenge – Make a simple holiday-themed craft or gift to exchange.
15. Christmas Bingo with Friends – Use personalized Bingo cards with fun, holiday-related tasks.
16. White Elephant Secret Santa – Everyone buys a funny or quirky gift, and participants swap them randomly.

Secret Santa Game Ideas for Office

1. Office Bingo Secret Santa – Create Bingo cards with office-related tasks (e.g., “Bought coffee for someone,” “Had a meeting,” etc.).
2. Secret Santa Silent Auction – Employees auction off gifts in a silent format, adding an element of strategy.
3. Holiday Trivia Secret Santa – Play holiday trivia, and each correct answer allows a participant to choose a gift.
4. Secret Santa Elf Swap – Have each participant dress up as elves to keep the festive spirit alive during the gift exchange.
5. Guess Who? Secret Santa – After opening gifts, everyone guesses who their Secret Santa was.
6. Secret Santa Charity Challenge – Participants choose gifts that donate to a charity in their recipient’s name.
7. Re-gifting Challenge – Bring a re-gifted item and add a personal twist to make it fun.
8. Secret Santa Guessing Game – Guess who your Secret Santa is based on the clues in the gift.
9. Themed Office Gift Exchange – Office employees buy gifts based on a theme (e.g., gadgets, office supplies).
10. Holiday Song Secret Santa – Instead of clues, participants give hints through lyrics from famous Christmas songs.
11. Gift Wrap Relay Race – Teams compete to wrap gifts quickly and efficiently.
12. Secret Santa Auction – Employees bid with play money or raffle tickets for gifts.
13. Secret Santa Photo Scavenger Hunt – Hide photos around the office, and employees follow clues to find their gifts.
14. Personalized Office Gifts – Gifts related to your co-worker’s personal preferences or hobbies.
15. Secret Santa with Task Challenges – Each gift includes a small holiday task or challenge to be completed.
16. Holiday Costume Secret Santa – Everyone dresses in festive attire or themed costumes while exchanging gifts.
17. DIY Gift Exchange – Employees create DIY gifts for each other, showcasing their skills.
18. Secret Santa Gift Guessing – Guess which colleague bought which gift, and the one with the most correct guesses wins a prize.

Secret Santa Games Ideas for Work

1. Gift Guessing Game – Employees guess who their gift is from after opening it.
2. Office-Themed Secret Santa – Gifts can be office supplies, coffee mugs, or personal items that are fun but still practical.
3. Secret Santa Pictionary – Draw and guess holiday-themed prompts to receive your gift.
4. Secret Santa Charades – Play charades with a holiday twist while the gifts are exchanged.
5. Secret Santa Bingo with Work Tasks – Bingo cards have work-related tasks (e.g., “Help a coworker,” “Send an email”), and completing them gets you a gift.
6. Christmas Carol Secret Santa – Play a snippet of a Christmas carol, and the recipient guesses who gave them the gift based on the song choice.
7. Secret Santa Challenge – Create a task for the recipient that’s related to their role or a funny work-related activity.
8. DIY Ornament Exchange – Employees make holiday-themed ornaments and exchange them with their Secret Santa.
9. Secret Santa Puzzle Exchange – Buy a small puzzle or brain teaser as a gift and exchange them.
10. Themed Gift Exchange – Organize the gift exchange around a specific theme, like “Gifts for Your Desk” or “Gifts Under $10.”
11. Holiday-Themed Secret Santa – Employees buy small, inexpensive, holiday-themed gifts.
12. Guess the Office Secret Santa – Each person writes a clue about their gift, and others must guess who gave it.
13. Secret Santa Prize Pool – Put all gifts into a prize pool and let employees choose randomly or through a lottery system.
14. Secret Santa Bingo with Work Challenges – Include challenges like “Complete a task early,” “Make someone laugh,” on the Bingo cards.
15. Christmas Photo Scavenger Hunt – Employees participate in a photo scavenger hunt that leads them to their Secret Santa gifts.
16. Playful Secret Santa – Employees give fun, quirky gifts like toys or unique items that spark conversation.
17. Office Gift Auction – Employees bring gifts to auction off, and the winning bids are donated to a charity or used for a fun activity at the office.
18. Team-based Secret Santa – Divide into teams and collaborate on a fun gift exchange, like “Best Gift for a Coworker Who’s Hard to Buy For.”
19. Gift Wrapping Contest – Employees compete to wrap the most creatively presented gifts for their Secret Santa recipients.

These game ideas can be customized to suit any work environment or setting, adding fun and creativity to your Secret Santa celebration!