The Best Secret Santa Gifts To Give This Holiday Season

Know your recipient’s go-to cocktail? Give them a special glass to drink it out of! Hand-blown glass is always a nice idea — look for shot glasses if they’re a tequila or mescal drinker, a martini glass in a funky shape, or even perfectly-imperfect wine glasses for them to reach for daily.

If your recipient loves experimenting in the kitchen, they’re sure to appreciate a set of gourmet or unusual spices to test out. Similarly, gifting them a set of flavored salt can be a great way to help them upgrade their everyday recipes.

Help fuel your recipient’s snow days or evening walks by gifting them a flask. Look for a style that is slim enough to fit into a pocket, and go for one personalized with their name or initials to make the gift feel even more thoughtful.

You can’t go wrong with a bottle of gourmet olive oil if your Secret Santa recipient is a home chef or simply loves to host. Look for an olive oil that is designed for dipping or salad dressings, and don’t be afraid to go with a fun flavor.

If you know the person you drew is a whiskey connoisseur, there are plenty of good gift ideas to help them enjoy their favorite drink a little bit more. Buying them a bottle of whiskey could be a little bit risky — as it can be hard to know their exact tastes — so we recommend opting for whiskey accessories like a set of whiskey stones or a special pair of glasses.

Get your recipient all set up for a Friday night at home by giving them a full set of bar tools, including a cocktail shaker, jigger, strainer, stir sticks, and more. You can piece a set together and combine them into one present — or go for a set that comes in a keepsake box customized with their name.

If you have a sense of your recipient's kitchen decor, gifting them a hand-crafted spoon rest is a thoughtful — and useful — gift. Just be sure to get one in a color that matches their aesthetic!

If your recipient is an amateur sommelier, give them a way to proudly display their favorite wine bottles. Look for a unique wine bottle stand or a beautiful way for them to display their collection of wine glasses. Or, if you pulled someone who is always bringing a bottle of wine to dinner parties, gift them a beautiful personalized wine box complete with storage for a wine opener, bottle stoppers, and more.

Every wine drinker would agree that you can never have too many wine stoppers on hand. So if you know your recipient loves to unwind with a bottle of wine in the evening, take this year’s Secret Santa as an opportunity to upgrade their wine stopper collection with a set of stoppers featuring handcrafted accents or a unique design.

Kitting out a home chef or grill master with a fresh apron and set of oven mitts is always a good idea. To make this gift feel just a little bit more special, look for a set that comes in a pattern you know your recipient will love — and one that can be customized with their name.

No winter night in is complete without a cozy robe to cuddle up in! Robes are also a great gift idea because it is usually pretty easy to guess the size your recipient will need without having to blow your cover by trying to ask them what size they wear.

There is no such thing as too many throw blankets in a homebody’s collection. So if you’ve drawn a homebody in your Secret Santa, gifting them a cozy throw blanket that matches their aesthetic is always a good idea. A throw blanket is also a fun gift if you drew the coworker who is always freezing in your company’s Secret Santa — just be sure to pick a style that is neutral and office-friendly.

Everyone loves a fresh bouquet of flowers — but Secret Santa is one of the few occasions where a bouquet is not the most appropriate gift option. Instead, pick out a beautiful handmade vase for your recipient. Going for a neutral ceramic style is a failsafe option if you’re not intimately familiar with their taste in home decor.

If your Secret Santa pick came with a bit of information about their favorite flavors or scents, then going with a classic scented candle for your gift is a failsafe option. If you don’t have that information on your recipient, however, a safer option is to go for a set of unscented taper candles and a beautiful candle holder.

Alternatively, if you know your recipient is more of an essential oil person, go for a gift to make the experience just a little bit more elevated. A beautiful essential oil burner or diffuser is sure to bring a smile to their face.

Give your Secret Santa pick everything they need for a relaxing and restorative night in with a gift box curated with all of the products they’ll need. Look for one with a journal if you know your recipient is on a personal growth journey, or go for a box packed with little indulgences to encourage someone who is always stressed to slow down.

Does your recipient have a competitive streak? Then giving them a game is always a good option. Go for card or board games to keep them happy during long winter nights at home, or if you know they have some outdoor space, giving them a yard game they can play with their friends or neighbors is always a good idea.

Help your homebody keep their space feeling good by giving them a cute storage solution. The key here is to use what you know about them. If they’re constantly collecting blankets, a big wicker basket where they can stash them is a good gift. Or if they’re always losing their keys, giving them a handmade catchall tray or small trinket bowl is something that will definitely get put to good use.

Bring a little bit of greenery into a homebody’s space by using the Secret Santa gift exchange as an opportunity to give them a houseplant in a beautiful pot or holder. Look for a plant that even those without a green thumb can keep alive, and pick a pot in a style that matches their aesthetic.

If you drew the friend or family member who’s been sending you pictures of their new baby on the daily, this is the perfect gift idea. Gather up all the pictures you have — or sneakily work with one of their close friends or family members to track some images down — and then combine them into a beautiful Photo Art print. It is a gift they’ll be sure to cherish for years to come!

If your recipient is the sentimental type, giving them a keepsake box where they can keep mementos of their child’s journey through life is a wonderful gift idea. To make the gift feel extra special, go for a box that can be personalized with either the child’s or the family’s name.

Bring a nursery or kid’s bedroom to life with a sweet art print. You can’t go wrong with something Disney-themed (especially if you know mom’s or dad’s favorite Disney characters) or with a personalized art print that incorporates their child’s name into the design. Minted offers a wide variety of prints in both categories, and in a range of sizes that allow you to pick the perfect print for their home and your budget.

If you can get your hands on a good picture of their little one’s side profile, turning into a piece of custom silhouette art is a gift that is sure to blow your Secret Santa recipient away, and is something that will definitely become a family heirloom.

If you aren’t sure that your recipient needs another family photo to display permanently, opt instead to turn one of the favorite images into a custom puzzle! Minted offers custom puzzles in a wide variety of designs and difficulty levels — go for one with more pieces if you know just the parents will be putting it together, or opt for something with fewer pieces if there are kids old enough to get in on the fun.

If your recipient is always talking about their kiddo’s latest passions and interests, get them a few ornaments to commemorate the phase! Dinosaurs, animals, and even food ornaments are all fun options that everyone in the family is sure to love.

For a gift that combines your recipient’s favorite furry friend with the spirit of the holidays, go for an ornament hand painted with a portrait of their pet. This is also a great idea if you want to get your recipient something pet-related, but aren’t sure if they’re the type to display a pet portrait at home.

That said, if you know your recipient would be thrilled to hang a portrait of their pet on one of their walls at home, getting them a custom pet portrait is a super thoughtful gift idea. Minted’s custom pet portrait program makes ordering one super easy — simply upload a picture of their pet and decide if you’d like to add their name to the portrait, then one of our talented independent artists will turn it into a watercolor style art print.

If you drew the dog lover of your group as your recipient, picking out a cute dog leash is a great gift idea. Go for a style that feels a little bit more special than the one they might use everyday — look for woven leashes in pretty colors or hand-tooled leather styles.

Picked an engineer or your company’s resident tinkerer in your office Secret Santa? A model kit is the perfect gift idea! If you can, pick a kit related to something else that they know they like (airplanes or legos, for example). But if you’re unsure what they might like best, a bird house/feeder kit is a failsafe option.

A tote bag is the perfect gift idea for the coworker that brings everything but the kitchen sink with them to work. Gift them one in a print or featuring a slogan that they love, and earn bonus points for going with a style that can be personalized with their name or initials.

If your job requires your coworkers to be on the road constantly, help keep them organized while traveling by upgrading a few of their key supplies. If your budget is a little bit higher, a personalized weekender bag is a thoughtful option. Or, you could go for a personalized dopp kit or small clutch to help keep their toiletries or smaller essentials easy to find.

If you know the coworker you picked in the Secret Santa draw is the pen and paper type, giving them a beautiful notebook or planner is a winning gift idea. Look for a style in a print that reminds you of them — and earn bonus points by customizing it with their name or initials.

A gift box full of a few of their favorite workday snacks is a great idea if you were given a little bit of information about your recipients tastes when you drew them. Alternatively, if you know they’re a tea or coffee drinker but aren’t sure of their tastes, a gift box featuring a few gourmet teas or coffee beans from around the world is something they’re sure to love.

For a failsafe gift idea that you know your recipient will put to good use, give them a set of business stationery personalized with their name, email address and phone number. Minted offers a huge selection of stationery created by independent designers from around the world, so be sure to browse through our selection to find a design that feels like a reflection of your coworker — whether that is something bright and bold or more minimalist and traditional.