6 Ways to Enjoy Secret Santa this Office Christmas Party

If you're scratching your head trying to keep up with all the Secret Santa variations flying around, don't worry—you’re not alone. Honestly, we’re just as bamboozled! Our customers have shared a smorgasbord of ways they swap gifts at Christmas parties, and we thought, why keep all the fun to ourselves? Whether you're team Classic Secret Santa or diving into something wilder (like that "left-right poem chaos"), we’ve got you covered.🎅🎁

1. Classic Secret Santa
   Let’s start with the classic Secret Santa. You know the drill: everyone chucks their names into a hat, bucket, or whatever random container someone finds lying around. Each person draws a name and bam—that’s your target. 

   A price limit is set to stop that one person (you know who you are) from showing off with something fancy while the rest of us are gifting socks. The idea is to keep it all hush-hush, hence “Secret” Santa—though let’s be honest, there's always someone that will spill who they got after two wines on TGIF.
   

2. White Elephant
   This version is for the true chaos lovers among us. White Elephant rules strip away the stress of finding the perfect gift for whoever you drew (seriously, does anyone really know what Janet from accounting likes?). Instead, you buy something within a set budget—no overthinking required—and toss it into the communal gift pile. Then the real fun begins as everyone draws numbers to decide the order, and when it’s your turn, you either pick a gift from the pile or straight-up steal someone else’s treasure. 

   Honestly, we’re obsessed with these rules. It’s a perfect mix of holiday spirit and acceptable office savagery.
   
   

3. Bad Santa
   This little gem popped up thanks to some of our delightfully devious customers last Christmas, and honestly, we’re still recovering. Bad Santa—like White Elephant, but with more chaos, more rounds, and ideally, way worse gifts.

   Here’s how it works: everyone shows up with an unlabeled, wrapped gift (budget agreed upon, because fairness or whatever). From the second person onward, the game becomes a festive free-for-all where you can either open a new gift or straight-up steal someone else’s. If your gift gets swiped, you pick again, and the cycle of heartbreak and hilarity continues until the pile is gone.
   
   

4. Pass The Present
   This one pretty much explains itself, but it’s gift-giving chaos at its finest. Apparently, there are a few variations of this game, but we’re obsessed with the version where someone reads a story out loud, and every time the words left or right are mentioned, everyone passes their gifts in that direction. Cue the frantic flailing and general confusion as everyone forgets their left and rights.

   It starts off like White Elephant or Bad Santa: unlabeled gifts are dumped in the middle, but here’s where things get spicy—thanks to the story, that we recommend is epically funny, rude, inappropriate or maybe go the opposite way and make it bat shit boring but throw in LEFT or RIGHT every few sentences, absolute chaos!
   

5. Treasure Hunt
   Everyone loves a good treasure hunt, and a Christmas one is no exception! Think of it as Secret Santa meets hide-and-seek. Guests bring a gift of a pre-determined value, and the host (receptionist/EA) hides them. How much effort you put in is up to you: go all out with elaborate clue cards leading to hidden spots, or take the “lazy-as-hell” approach and simply tell everyone to go find a gift. Either way, it’s chaos, laughter, and maybe someone getting stuck behind the couch—it’s all part of the fun!
   
   
   
   
6. Lucky Dip
   This one’s a bit like White Elephant, in the sense that you have no idea who you’re buying for! Simply bring a gift within a set budget and an offcut of the wrapping paper you used to wrap it. These offcuts are tossed into a hat, and each person draws one, matching it to the corresponding gift, which then becomes theirs. From there, it’s a free-for-all: feel free to add your own chaos, whether it’s sending gifts left or right, stealing them, or whatever level of madness suits your crowd! 
   

That's our top picks for fun ways to do your office Christmas Gift Swap this year! Just remember, the best gifts are really expensive, like a bar of gold, or a Maserati, otherwise, opt for something really funny! 

And the best place to shop for epically funny gifts for your work colleagues? The Inappropriate Gift Co of course!