Secret Santa Gift Ideas: Funny and Thoughtful Picks for Anyone
Quick answer: the best gifts as Secret Santa are inexpensive, a little bit personal and impossible to get wrong. A personalised word art print does that well: the Personalised pickleball word art print starts from £9.99, and the words you choose decide whether it is funny or thoughtful. If your person plays a sport, our sports and fitness prints are a good place to start.
Updated October 2026
In this guide
- How to choose a Secret Santa gift when you barely know the person
- Funny Secret Santa gifts that still feel kind
- Thoughtful picks for sporty colleagues and friends
- A quick comparison of gift styles
- What words to put on a Secret Santa print
- How ordering works
- FAQ
How do you choose a Secret Santa gift for someone you barely know?
Secret Santa is awkward by design. You are handed a name, a budget and a deadline, and you may know only that the person sits near the kettle. The trick is to give up on being clever about their whole personality and pick one safe, observable thing instead.
Good starting points are:
- A hobby they mention. If they talk about weekend matches, a round of golf or a new racquet, buy into that.
- A shared joke. Every office has them: the printer that never works, the meeting that always overruns, the biscuit tin politics.
- A quality everyone agrees on. Calm under pressure, always first in, endlessly helpful. Kind words are rarely a mistake.
The common thread is that the gift looks like you noticed something, which is what people actually enjoy about Secret Santa. Expensive does not matter; specific does.
What is a funny Secret Santa gift that still feels thoughtful?
The gifts that get laughs in the room are rarely the loudest novelty items. They are the ones that make the recipient think, “How did they know that?” That is where a personalised print earns its place. Instead of a mug with a slogan someone else wrote, you write the slogan.
A funny print works best when it is affectionate rather than pointed. Teasing someone about a harmless, well-known habit gets a laugh; teasing about anything sensitive does not. If you are unsure whether a joke will go down well, test it on a colleague who knows the recipient before you order.
Because every print from Word Art Prints is made to order with your own words, you can make the humour as gentle or as cheeky as the group can handle. And because you preview it free before ordering, you can check the wording looks right before you commit.
What do you give a Secret Santa who plays racquet sports?
Pickleball has grown quickly, and if someone on your team or in your friendship group plays it, they probably talk about it. The Personalised pickleball word art print is from £9.99, which keeps you comfortably within most Secret Santa limits.
It suits the player who is slightly obsessed, the person who organises the Thursday-night game, or the colleague who keeps trying to recruit everyone. You could fill the print with court language, a nickname, the name of the regular group and a few jokes about the kitchen line. It is a gift that tells them you listened when they would not stop talking about it.
If the person you drew plays a different sport, the same idea works. The sports and fitness category has designs across 50+ sports, so there is likely something close to their interest.
Are there Secret Santa ideas for golfers, darts players and rugby fans?
Yes, and we have written separate guides for each so you can go deeper:
- For the golfer in your group, see Secret Santa Gifts for Golfers Under £20.
- For a pub-league regular, try Secret Santa Darts Gifts: 7 Ideas Under £20.
- For the person who lives for Saturday matches, Secret Santa rugby gifts has plenty of ideas.
Each of these sports has its own language, and that language is what makes a word art print funny. Insider terms, famous frustrations and the names of the regular crew do more for a gift than any generic design could.
What if my Secret Santa is a man, a woman or a teenager?
You do not need a gendered gift; you need a gift matched to a person. Still, a few angles help:
- For him: sport, banter and understated humour usually go down well. Keep the words short and punchy.
- For her: qualities and kind words tend to work well, as does a nod to a hobby she clearly loves. A warm, appreciative print is rarely wrong.
- For a younger colleague or teenager: play down the sentiment and play up the joke. A funny print about a game or sport they play will feel current and low-pressure.
The same print can be tuned for any of these simply by changing the words. That flexibility is the reason it works as a Secret Santa gift across a mixed group.
Which Secret Santa gift style suits which person?
Here is a quick way to compare the options available from Word Art Prints.
| Product | Best for | Example words to include | From price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personalised pickleball word art print | The keen pickleball player or the person who organises the game | Dink, rally, kitchen, game night, their nickname | £9.99 |
The same price applies whether you choose an instant digital download or an unframed print. If you would like the gift to look finished, framed A4 starts from £22.99 and framed A3 from £30.99, though those usually sit above a standard Secret Santa limit, so check your budget before you decide.
What words should you put on a Secret Santa print?
This is where a personalised gift gets its edge. Write the words as if you were making a list of everything the group knows about this person. Here are three starting points.
The sporty colleague
- Their first name or well-known nickname
- Sport-specific terms they use constantly
- The name of their regular team or group
- One affectionate exaggeration, such as “never loses (in their head)”
- The year, so it feels like a keepsake
The office legend
- Reliable, calm, helpful, first in, last out
- The name of your team or department
- Running jokes everyone recognises, such as the kettle, the Friday quiz or the meeting that never ends
- “Thank you” somewhere, in a small size, to balance the humour
The friend with a signature habit
- Their name and the thing they are famous for
- Three words friends would use to describe them
- A phrase they say all the time
- A shared memory or place, kept light and positive
As a rule, aim for around ten to fifteen words and keep any joke affectionate. If you would be comfortable reading the words aloud in front of everyone at the party, they are safe to print.
How does ordering work?
- Choose a print. Pick the design that matches the person’s interest, such as the pickleball print or another from the sports and fitness range.
- Design it with your own words. Add names, jokes, qualities, dates or places.
- Preview it free. Check the wording and layout before you buy.
- Get it. Take an instant digital download to print yourself, or have a printed or framed print delivered. Framed prints ship within 3-5 working days in the UK and 7-15 days internationally.
If your exchange is close, the digital download is the safest route, since you can have it in hand straight away. If you want something to unwrap, order early and allow for the shipping times above.
FAQ
How much should you spend on a Secret Santa gift?
Most UK offices and friendship groups set a limit of £5 to £10, sometimes up to £20. Always check the limit your organiser has set. A personalised word art print starts from £9.99, whether as an instant digital download or an unframed print, so it suits most budgets.
What is a good funny Secret Santa gift?
The funniest gifts are the ones that quietly prove you paid attention: an in-joke, a running gag from the office or a habit everyone knows about. A personalised print lets you put those exact words on the wall, which is why it tends to land better than a generic novelty item.
Can I get a Secret Santa gift at the last minute?
Yes. A digital download is available instantly once you have designed it, so you can print it at home or at a local print shop and wrap it the same day. Framed prints ship within 3-5 working days in the UK, so order those early.
What should I do if I don’t know the person well?
Choose something tied to a hobby or a shared workplace joke rather than anything personal. If you know they play a sport, a print built around that sport is safe. Keep the words kind and light, and avoid anything that could embarrass them in front of colleagues.
Is a print a good Secret Santa gift for a colleague?
It can be, as long as the words suit the relationship. Qualities, shared jokes about the team and favourite sayings all work well. Skip private details such as birthdays or personal history unless you know the person very well.
About Word Art Prints
Word Art Prints is a UK shop making personalised word art prints since 2017. With over 470 designs, every print is made to order with your own words, from names and dates to memories, qualities and places. If you want to keep browsing for gift ideas, our guide to gifts for ice hockey players is a good next read.