Secret Santa Gifts NZ: Ideas for Every Budget

Cheap Secret Santa gifts do not have to feel cheap, as long as the money goes on something the person would have picked for themselves.

Secret Santa gifts for $10

At the lowest limit, a T2 Tea gift card is an easy fit. It starts from $5, so $10 goes towards a tin of tea for the colleague who always has a mug on the go. For the reader in the office, a Kobo gift card from $10 goes on an ebook for the summer break, with no extra shelf needed.

Secret Santa gifts under $20

With a little more room, a JB Hi-Fi gift card from $5 puts something towards a charging cable, a phone case or a film for the holidays. A Glassons gift card, also from $5, suits the person who always seems to be wearing something new. Neither needs you to know a size or a model number.

Secret Santa gifts under $30

At the top of most office limits, a Typo gift card from $25 covers notebooks, desk bits and the kind of quirky find that suits a draw. A Frank Green gift card, which starts at $25, goes towards a reusable cup or bottle for the person who turns up to every meeting with a takeaway coffee. Both feel generous without going over the agreed amount.

The office draw has its own rules. You are usually buying for someone you see every day but do not know that well, and anything too personal makes the handover awkward for both of you. Safe Secret Santa gifts for coworkers stick to the everyday: a coffee or a tea, a book for the holidays, a small treat for the desk. A T2 Tea or Kobo gift card covers two of those without guessing at anyone's taste in scent or clothes. For Secret Santa gifts for work, keep the message light and the amount inside the limit, even if you like this person more than most. Plenty of good Secret Santa ideas in NZ workplaces come down to that simple rule. If you want a proper present for a colleague outside the draw, our guide to Christmas presents for co-workers has more ideas.

Christmas here comes with long evenings, a work do that spills out onto the deck and a car packed for the beach. Secret Santa presents that match the season tend to get used first. A Kathmandu gift card from $5 goes towards something small for the camping trip in January, the one they have been talking about since October. For the colleague who practically lives in jandals, a City Beach gift card comes in amounts such as $10, $15, $20, $25 and $30, which lines up neatly with most Secret Santa limits. And for the one who never misses a summer gig, a Ticketmaster gift card from $10 puts something towards the next ticket. Secret Santa gifts in NZ work best when they fit how people actually spend the break, and that is mostly outside.

Funny Secret Santa gifts get a big laugh at the work do and then spend the next year in a drawer. The novelty mug, the desk toy that stops working by New Year and the joke that only made sense in the shop all end up in the same place. There is a way to keep the laugh without the clutter. Put the joke in the message and the real gift in the card. The personal message you add on the product page can carry the pun, the running gag about the office printer or a short rhyme about their famous potato salad. The gift card underneath is the part they will still be using once the laughing stops.

Pick a card and an amount that fits the limit, then write your message on the product page. At checkout, decide whether the card comes to your own inbox or goes straight to the person you drew. It is sent as soon as you order and arrives within minutes, so the night before the work do is still early enough. For the swap itself, print the email at home or show it on your phone. When you really do not know their taste, the Merry Christmas Gift Card lets them pick the brand gift card themselves, with any amount from $10. For more Secret Santa gift ideas in NZ, have a look through our Christmas gift cards.

Whoever's name you pulled out, you are sorted.