What's a Good Secret Santa Budget? Work, Family, Friends

The budget is the first of the Secret Santa rules a group agrees, before any names are drawn. Once you've settled on a number, put the budget on every card in the draw, so nobody has to remember it or ask.

Secret Santa Budget for Work

At work, set the budget by the person on the lowest pay, not the average, and say it in the invitation along with the fact that joining is optional. The same limit applies to managers: a boss who spends three times as much makes everyone else's gift look small. The full office setup, with a four-week plan and a rules sheet, is in Secret Santa at work.

The only surveys of Secret Santa spending we could check are British. In instantprint's survey of 1,000 UK office workers, published October 31, 2024, 48% said they spend £5 to £10, only 1% would consider £30 or more, and 59% felt no extra pressure to spend that year. So for an office we suggest $20, or £10 in the UK. If people struggle at that price, a theme that fits the budget, such as a favorite snack or a paperback, makes choosing easier.

Secret Santa Budget for Family

A family mixes ages and incomes, so one number rarely suits everyone. Two setups work: one draw for everyone with one budget, or separate draws for adults and children, each with its own. The family page covers family budgets for adults and children, with a planner that sets up both draws.

We suggest $25 to $50 for adults and $10 to $20 for children, with the parents choosing the children's figure. The saving is largest in a big family: 12 people each buying for all the others at $30 is 132 gifts and $3,960, while Secret Santa is 12 gifts and $360 (our arithmetic).

The 7 gift rule some parents use limits how many presents their own children get, not what anyone spends; the family page explains it with the 5 gift rule.

Secret Santa Budget Rules

• Agree it before the draw. Changing the budget after people have shopped is unfair to whoever shopped early.
• Put one number in the invitation, not a range. “About $20” is clearer than “$15 to $25”, which some people read as $15 and others as $25.
• Say what counts. Decide whether shipping and wrapping count toward the budget, and whether handmade or secondhand gifts are welcome. A gift card counts at face value.
• Let people opt out privately. Don't lower the budget for one person in front of the group; ask the group to agree a lower one for everyone instead.
• Keep a spare gift in case someone arrives without one.

If someone breaks the budget, let a little over pass without comment. If a gift is well over, or well under, the organizer can mention it privately afterward and repeat the limit when next year's invitation goes out. Nobody should be singled out at the party.

Is $100 Too Much for a Christmas Gift?

For Secret Santa, almost always. In the 2024 survey above, only 1% of UK office workers said they would consider spending £30 or more. A $100 gift in an exchange where everyone else spent $20 puts the recipient in an awkward spot and makes the other gifts look small. Outside Secret Santa, for a partner or a close relative, there is no rule: it depends on what you can afford and what you usually give each other.

Average Secret Santa Budget in the UK

No survey we found reports one overall UK average for Secret Santa. Two surveys of UK office workers, both by the printing company instantprint, give the clearest picture:

• October 31, 2024, 1,000 UK office workers: 48% spend £5 to £10; only 1% would consider spending £30 or more.
• November 25, 2022, 2,000 UK office workers: the most common answers, in instantprint's words, were £5 (1 in 10) and up to £10 (13%). Average spending ran from £18.80 in IT and £18.20 in media and internet down to £5.10 in social care and teaching, and 17% were sitting out Secret Santa that year because of the cost of living.

Both surveys asked office workers only; we found none that covers UK families or friends. The 2022 survey is “How to Nail Secret Santa This Year According to Brits” on instantprint's site.

Secret Santa Budget: $10, $20 or $25?

These are our suggestions, not survey figures. Round numbers are easier to shop to, and the lower choice is right whenever you're unsure.

• $5: a class of young children, or a swap of joke gifts.
• $10: older children, a large office, or any year when money is tight for someone in the group.
• $20: a sensible default for an office or a mixed group of friends.
• $25: close friends, or adults in a family who know each other well.
• $50 or more: a small group of close family who would otherwise buy for each other anyway.

Whatever you choose, the calculator above shows what it saves the group compared with everyone buying for everyone.