A Secret Santa questionnaire tells whoever drew your name what you like, what fits and what to skip. Fill in the card below with your favorites, sizes, allergies, "I'd love" and "please no". Then download it, share it to the group chat or print it. A blank version for offices is further down.
Updated by the Frugal Santa elves
Secret Santa file
Answer what you like and skip the rest. The card updates as you type, and nothing you type leaves this page.
Running the swap? The Secret Santa generator draws the names and gives everyone a private link. Still deciding what to put under "I'd love"? Talk to Santa on a live video call, and your wishes come back as a list with store prices, lowest first.
Ask what a shopper needs to know: what the person loves, what fits and what to avoid. Keep it to about 15 questions so it stays quick to fill in.
Start with favorites: color, snack or treat, drink, scent, hobby and a store they like. Add quick this-or-that picks, like coffee or tea and sweet or salty. They take one tap and narrow the gift fast. Ask for sizes only if clothes or socks are fair game.
Then come the two answers that save the most gifts. Allergies or things to avoid keep everyone safe, and a "please no" line catches what they already own too much of, like mugs or candles. Finish with "I'd love", one or two real wishes, and the agreed budget so the wish fits the cap. The card maker above asks all of these, in that order.
| Question | What it tells your Secret Santa |
|---|---|
| Favorite color? | Which scarf, mug or wrapping paper to pick. |
| Favorite snack or treat? | An easy win on a small budget. |
| Favorite drink? | Coffee beans, a tea sampler, cocoa or a cup to go with it. |
| Favorite scent? | Candles, hand cream or soap, or none at all. |
| Hobby? | A gift they'll pick up on the weekend. |
| Favorite store or website? | Where a gift card, or a gift, will land well. |
| Coffee, tea or cocoa? | One tap that rules out half the aisle. |
| Sweet or salty? | Chocolate or pretzels, cookies or nuts. |
| Night in or day out? | Cozy socks and a puzzle, or a water bottle for the trail. |
| Useful or just for fun? | Whether to shop practical or silly. |
| Top and shoe size? | Only needed for clothes, slippers or socks. |
| I'd love... | The wish they'd pick for themselves. |
| Please no... | What they already have too much of. |
| Allergies or things to avoid? | What could make them sick, itchy or sad. |
| Budget? | The cap, so the wish fits. |
At work, keep the questions light and every answer optional. Leave out clothing sizes, home addresses and anything about health beyond allergies. Ask about the desk and the day instead: coffee or tea, a snack for the afternoon slump, a hobby they're happy to chat about, and whether they'd like something for the desk or for home.
Keep the exchange voluntary and the budget the same for everyone. The US Department of the Interior's ethics office, for one, asks that invitations to office gift exchanges say clearly that joining is voluntary.
Print the blank sheet here, two to a page, and leave a stack by the coffee machine. Or have everyone tick "Work version" in the card maker above and post their card in the team chat. Ask for the sheets before the draw, then hand each Santa the sheet for their person.
Two to a page, so one sheet of paper serves two people.
Secret Santa questionnaire
Work version · every question is optional
Budget:Swap day:
Read the bottom of the card first. "Please no" and allergies rule gifts out, so they matter most. In the US, the FDA counts nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Check the label before you give anything to eat.
Then look for two answers that meet. A tea drinker who loves mysteries might get a tin of loose tea and a paperback. A night-in person whose favorite color is green might get green fuzzy socks and a jigsaw puzzle. If all you have is a favorite color and a snack, wrap the snack in paper of that color.
If they wrote an "I'd love", start there and compare prices before you buy. Stay at or just under the cap, and keep the card on your phone to check sizes in the store. Need the names drawn too? The Secret Santa generator makes a private link for everyone.
Yes. Santa's interview turns the questions into a short video call. A grown-up with minutes makes a link and sends it to family or friends who are 18 or older. Each guest chats with Santa, an AI video character, about their year, what they love lately, what they'd rather not get and what they're wishing for.
Every guest knows how it works. Santa says at the start that he shares their wishes with the person who sent the link, and each guest ticks a box saying so. Afterward the sender sees a summary under each guest's name: likes, dislikes and wishes, with store prices. The sender's minutes pay, at $1 a minute, and each call only uses the time the guest talks.
For a Secret Santa group, the organizer sends everyone the link, then passes each person's wishes to whoever drew them, so no Santa gives themselves away. Kids call Santa on a grown-up's call instead. See how Santa's interview works.
Before the draw, or right after it. Aim for at least a week before swap day so every Santa has time to shop, and two weeks if gifts will travel by mail.
No. The card needs the person's name so their Santa knows whose it is. What stays secret is the giver, not the person being shopped for.
A questionnaire gives clues: favorites, sizes and no-gos. A wish list names exact gifts, often with links and prices. Many people do both. Make yours with the Christmas wish list maker.
Yes, with a grown-up typing. Kids who'd rather say it out loud can talk to Santa with a grown-up on a live video call.
Only in this browser, so your card is still there if you come back. Nothing is sent anywhere. "Start over" clears it.
No. In a white elephant swap you don't know who will open your gift, so pick something anyone would enjoy. Read the white elephant rules, or find more Christmas party games.
Live videoSay your wishes out loud on a live video call with Santa. They come back as a list with store prices, lowest first. $1 a minute.
Call Santa
Secret Santa generatorDraw names online, then send each person a private link.
White elephant rulesThe rules, the steals, and a free host to run your gift swap.
Right left Christmas gameThree pass-the-gift stories, with every LEFT and RIGHT lit up.
Christmas wish listMake, print and share your list, with gift ideas for every age.