You better watch out, Secret Santa is coming to town…or to your office. The seasonal activity, whether you’re excited about it or not, tends to find its way into your office. In case you have been tasked with organizing it, fret not, we have some ideas for you.

GET ORGANIZED-

HOW MANY- Decide who will participate in the Secret Santa exchange. If you’re super organized, you can send a template to most employees and set a date for them to get back to you. Or you can just email your colleagues and wait for them to respond (we won’t judge).

SET A DATE AND TIME- Duh.

ORGANIZE THE DRAW- Randomly assign everyone a Secret Santa recipient. This can be done online with Secret Santa generators such as Drawnames, Pickster (Appstore | Playstore), Elfster, and others.

HOW MUCH- Establish a budget for the gifts to ensure everyone is comfortable with the spending limit. Make sure it’s an amount that works for everyone involved, and that it gets a suitable gift. At Enterprise HQ, we opted for EGP 400… (shh, don’t tell).

ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY- Push participants to think outside the box and be creative with their gift choices. It could be something personalized, handmade, or have something to do with their hobbies. Which might prompt a bit of research from the gifter’s side. You can also send them our list of ideas for Christmas gifts on a budget.

CREATE A FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE- Decorate the space with Christmas-themed decorations, a mini-tree, maybe? Play holiday music, and maybe a garland or two. Not going overboard is key, of course — it is the simplest thing that can manifest the merriness needed.

IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS ON BUDGET-

#1- CUSTOM COFFEE MUG: A big hit at Enterprise HQ, mugs are useful and thoughtful gifts. Custom-made coffee or tea mugs with a design or message that relates to the giftee’s interests or personality. It can carry a meaningful message, morning-inspo, or his/her name or initials. You can check Mug It, Egypt Factory (they also offers customized-printed tote bags), and Ellie Home where they can customize a pottery mug with the person’s initials name or engrave their initials.

#2- BOARD GAME OR PUZZLE: Local board games have grown in popularity and can serve as a creative and out-of-the-box Secret Santa gift. Who does not like Bank El Haz and Monopoly?

Other board games to consider include:

  • Kataflam: The game involves flashcards that have questions and sentences related to well-known Egyptian films and series, and participants have to guess where and when they were said.
  • Zag Games: They offer three creative flash-card games and two Egyptian-themed puzzles.
  • 2oolameme (Say a meme): This company was founded by a young girl called Sara Abou Elkhair and has a variety of creative comedy games. See the whole line-up here.
  • Nilco Games: One of the well-known brands in Egypt that brought us famous games such as Lido, Monopoly, and Snakes and Ladders. It offers a wider range of games for both adults and children. You can check their games and puzzles collection here.

#3- PLANNERS AND NOTEBOOKS: A journal or notebook can be a thoughtful and practical gift for someone who enjoys writing, doodling, and keeping notes. There are a variety of local brands that you can choose from such as Dots (where you can engrave the giftee’s name on the notebook), Stick To The Plan, Mofekera, the Write Concept, and Nootah (they recently added Platestine-themed notebooks, and the proceeds of which will support Gaza).

#4- FUNNY SOCKS: Actually, a set of cool socks with funny prints can be a simple and fun Secret Santa gift to give. Local brands like In Your Shoe, Tale of Socks, and Lazybut have wide sock collections that include Christmas-themed ones.

#5- COZY BLANKETS: A soft and cozy blanket might be a suitable gift, especially during these colder months. Options include Blank-Out, Square Trends, Snuggs (you can order them online or check their stores at the Yard Mall, New Cairo and Mall of Egypt, Sixth of October), Bashkeery, and XHBT Shop (they offer coloring blankets that you can individually color in).

#6- SCENTED CANDLES: The Secret Santa classic that never grows old. Candles can be an elegant and practical gift that certainly goes nicely with this weather, even if it is never used. You can order some handmade candles from these online brands that include: The Candle Co, Amcandes, Wicks and More, Muse Organic Candles, Areej Aromatherapy, and Fairouza Candles.

#7- SELF-CARE PRODUCTS: Items such as bath bombs, face masks, body lotions, handmade soaps, relaxing oils, nourishing creams, scrubs, and others. You can pick locally-made skin care products from these brands: Norshek, Areej, Bubblz, The Bath Land, Hathor Organics, Nerfertari, Black Lotus, and Raw African. You can check our guide of skincare to learn more about the local brands and where to find them.

#8- KITCHEN GEAR: We all have that one colleague/friend who can’t have enough spatulas. The well-known Chef and TV presenter May Yacoubi has an online platform that has a wide range of kitchen tools and tableware that can suit any budget. Also, a local brand called Paillettes offers customized wooden boards, coasters, and trays in addition to other kitchen tools such as spoons and knives. You can have your loved one’s name engraved on these wooden products.

#9- CUSTOMIZED PHOTO ALBUM: This is the ultimate gift for that closest buddy at work: Actualprinted photos of you two together. You can download Instaprints where you can send them the photos you want to print, select the album or frame, and you will have it delivered to your place within days. You can have a look at their Instagram account here.

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