Something so many of us have to deal with every year is Secret Santa. Be it at work, school, or just with your friends, the idea of drawing a name and giving an anonymous gift just seems fun for everyone. The biggest issue with Secret Santa, however, is the budget. A $10-15 budget is pretty normal, but that’s not easy when your assigned person says, “I like artisan tea, books, and playing the piano”. Descriptions like these leave you wondering how on earth you’re going to stick to a budget. So here I will go through some of the best Secret Santa gift ideas that are under $10 that I have received or given throughout the years.
- Hot Chocolate Ornaments
These little holiday treats make for an easy and inexpensive holiday treat for your Secret Santa. They are super simple to make and come out to a cost of about $8 in total. You’ll need a plastic fillable ornament (check Michael’s- and don’t forget to wash it before you use it!), some instant hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and sprinkles. Just layer the ingredients in the ornament, close the top, and wrap it in a ribbon and you’re good to go! My suggestion is to put them on your Christmas tree and open it up on December 25th for a morning treat while you open your gifts.
- Tea
I know I mentioned artisan teas that are just too expensive to buy, but there are some that you can get for your tea-loving friend. Most local stores will sell loose-leaf tea for cheap- the brand I prefer is found in St. Jacob’s at The Farmer’s Pantry and they are $8.50/tin. That’ll leave you enough to pick up some tea bags to go along with it. You can also check dollar stores- you can find some packages like tea and hot chocolate from some pretty recognizable brands for about $4!
- Plants
Plants make a good gift for the person that you have no idea what to buy for and you can get some that fit the novelty aspect as well. Air plants make a really good one because they’re unique and don’t require anything more than some sunlight and a few drops of water a few times a week- and they’re only $3.95-$9.95. Mini cacti are amazing too. You can get a colourful mini cactus for around $7 and they’re the most resilient plants around; great for that friend who doesn’t know how to keep any plants alive. I got an air plant from my Secret Santa last year and I still have it, it sits happily brightening up my windowsill!
- Recipes in a jar
Recipes in a jar are great because they’re only as expensive as the ingredients you put into them. A chocolate chip cookie recipe in a jar will cost <$3 to make because you often have some flour, baking powder, etc., on hand in your pantry anyway. Plus, you leave the wet ingredients up to them, so you don’t need to worry about anything spoiling. The most expensive part of this is that $1.50 mason jar to hold it all! All you have to do aside from combining the dry ingredients is to write a little tag with instructions on what to add and how to make whatever’s in the jar. The nice part about these is that you can tailor it to the person. When I made these for my family, I gave my sister soup instead of a baked good because she likes to bake everything herself from scratch and she considered this pre-made.
- Candles
Candles are a great little gift for anyone. You can get candles at the dollar store for $2 and the nice part about these is that you can personalize them. Online, there are tons of tutorials on how to make personalized candles, meaning that you can tailor them to anyone that you are giving it to. You can add anything from texture, colour, or even make a plain white candle. You can also make your own from scratch since 1lb of candle wax can cost $8.50 from the right source and then you can scent them, and colour them any way you like (pro tip: you can colour candles with crayons!). I made my mom 4 for Christmas one year for under $20 all in.