Secret Santa Gifts for Adults, by Spending Limit
Secret Santa hands each giver one name and a fixed spending limit. The name often belongs to a coworker known by face, desk and coffee order and not much else. That calls for a different gift from one for a close friend: something consumable, so it does not need a place on a shelf at home, and neutral, so it carries no message beyond good wishes. Chocolate, a pair of good salts and a tin of tea do that well, and a short handwritten card does the rest.
This guide sorts Secret Santa gifts by three common limits, $15, $25 and $50, with every price from listed prices, then covers what to give when you know nothing about the person and what to write.
How Secret Santa differs from white elephant
In Secret Santa, names are drawn in advance, each giver shops for one person, and the giver's name stays secret until the exchange, or for good. In a white elephant exchange, gifts go into a pile and can be stolen, so each gift has to suit anyone in the room. A Secret Santa gift can be chosen for the person, even with very little to go on. The white elephant gift ideas for adults guide covers the other game.
Secret Santa gifts for $15
A chocolate bar and a card
Omnom, the chocolate factory in Reykjavík, makes a Coffee + Milk bar with coffee, popcorn and waffle notes in Icelandic milk chocolate (shop Omnom Coffee + Milk). Add a Jaymes Paper "Joy & Peace" card, a small folded card in olive and natural cover stock with a blind deboss, a natural envelope and a blank interior, made in Los Angeles (shop the Jaymes Paper Joy & Peace card). Together: $13.49.
Two bars for a coffee drinker
Mayana's Coffee Break mini bar layers coffee marshmallow and salted caramel in 66% dark chocolate, topped with sea salt and coffee grounds, made in small batches in Spooner, Wisconsin (shop the Mayana Coffee Break mini bar). Omnom's Sea Salted Toffee, toffee milk chocolate with Icelandic sea salt, goes with it (shop Omnom Sea Salted Toffee). Together: $12.98.
One bar with a story
Art Pollard of Amano Artisan Chocolate in Utah made the Raspberry Rose bar after a visit to Pierre Hermé's pastry shop in Paris: tart raspberry and rose in dark chocolate (shop Amano Raspberry Rose). On its own: $14.99. The chocolate collection has many more bars under $15.
Secret Santa gifts for $25
Chocolate almonds and a card
Dick Taylor, the bean-to-bar maker in Eureka, California, roasts organic California almonds and coats them layer upon layer in its 65% Tanzania dark chocolate in traditional coating pans, then dusts them with cocoa powder. The 6-ounce bag is easy to share at a desk (shop Dick Taylor chocolate coated almonds). With the Joy & Peace card: $19.99. Swap in Dick Taylor's Brown Butter bar, 73% dark chocolate with browned butter, roasted cacao nibs and sea salt, for a second small gift at $12 (shop Dick Taylor Brown Butter with nibs and sea salt).
A pair of salts for someone who cooks
Saltverk makes its flaky sea salt from Arctic seawater from the Westfjords of Iceland, evaporated with geothermal energy, and the flakes are lifted out by hand. The maker suggests it on steak, eggs, roast vegetables, bread, dark chocolate and the rim of a cocktail (shop Saltverk flaky sea salt). Its birch smoked salt is the same flaky salt dried over birch smoke in the Icelandic tradition, woodsy and slightly sweet (shop Saltverk birch smoked salt). Together: $23.00.
Secret Santa gifts for $50
A tin of tea and a steeper
Mariage Frères Marco Polo is a scented black tea from the Paris tea house, fruity and floral with a velvety character, loose in a sealed 100-gram canister (shop Mariage Frères Marco Polo). A stainless steel loose leaf tea steeper means the tin can be used at a desk without a teapot (shop the loose leaf tea steeper). Add Ladyfingers Letterpress's "I've Got Your Back" card, a letterpress card with an envelope and a blank interior (shop the I've Got Your Back card). Together: $50.00.
A Christmas tea and chocolate almonds
Esprit de Noël is Mariage Frères' holiday black tea, scented with gentle Christmas spices and pieces of cinnamon, almond and apple (shop Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël). With the Dick Taylor chocolate coated almonds: $49.99. The gifts for tea lovers guide has more teas by the way people drink them.
Secret Santa gifts by spending limit
| Limit | Gift | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| $15 | Omnom Coffee + Milk, Jaymes Paper Joy & Peace card | $13.49 |
| $15 | Mayana Coffee Break mini bar, Omnom Sea Salted Toffee | $12.98 |
| $15 | Amano Raspberry Rose | $14.99 |
| $25 | Dick Taylor chocolate coated almonds, Joy & Peace card | $19.99 |
| $25 | Saltverk flaky sea salt, Saltverk birch smoked salt | $23.00 |
| $50 | Mariage Frères Marco Polo, loose leaf tea steeper, I've Got Your Back card | $50.00 |
| $50 | Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël, Dick Taylor chocolate coated almonds | $49.99 |
Prices follow the listed price on each product page. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com.
When you know nothing about them
- Pick something that gets used up. Chocolate, tea and salt leave nothing behind to keep or display.
- Check the room for allergies. Several bars above contain nuts or milk, and the almonds are almonds. If the office has a known nut allergy, choose the salts or the tea, and read each label before buying.
- Leave out alcohol. It is the easiest way to give a gift the person cannot use.
- Skip anything personal. No clothing sizes, scents or jokes about the person.
- Ask one question. If the organizer collects a short list of likes, coffee or tea, sweet or savory, use it.
What to write on a Secret Santa card
One line is enough: a wish for the holidays and something about what is in the box ("for your 3 p.m. coffee" or "for the next steak"). Sign it "Your Secret Santa" if the group keeps names secret. A real card with a handwritten line makes a $15 gift feel considered. The greeting card guide covers letterpress and other cards.
Short answers
What is a good Secret Santa gift for an adult? Something consumable and neutral, such as a chocolate bar, a pair of salts or a tin of tea, with a handwritten card.
What can you get for $15 for Secret Santa? A craft chocolate bar with a card, or two smaller bars, each under $15 at listed prices.
What is a good Secret Santa gift for a coworker you do not know? Chocolate, tea or salt, checked for allergies and without alcohol, with a short note.
What is the difference between Secret Santa and white elephant? Secret Santa assigns each giver one person. White elephant pools the gifts and allows stealing.
A Secret Santa gift does not need to say much. It needs to be eaten, enjoyed and remembered as kind. For a manager buying for a whole team, the holiday gifts for employees and coworkers guide covers gifts by the dozen.
