Gift ideas by colour: what to buy for a one-colour Secret Santa

How a colour exchange works

In Santa by Colour every Santa draws a person and, at random, a colour. The gift and the wrapping are all in that colour. At the party the table fills with parcels in a dozen colours, and part of the fun is working out who had which.

The standard list in Secret Santa Twist has twelve colours, and the organiser can change it. The ideas below follow that list.

How to shop by colour

• Start from the person, then look for the colour. A reader who drew green gets a book with a green cover, not a random green thing.
• If the thing itself cannot be in the colour, build a set: three small things in the colour beat one large thing that is not.
• Food and drink are an easy way in: most colours have a fruit, a sweet or a tea.
• Shades are allowed. Navy is blue, mustard is yellow, burgundy is red.

Red, orange and yellow

• Red: an enamel mug, wool gloves, strawberry jam, a red pencil case, chilli sauce, a paperback with a red cover.
• Orange: a jar of marmalade, an orange beanie, dried apricots, a small terracotta pot, a scented candle with orange peel, a pack of clementines with a card.
• Yellow: lemon curd, a mustard scarf, a yellow umbrella, honey sweets, sunflower seeds to plant, a highlighter set.

Green, teal and blue

• Green: a houseplant, matcha, pistachios, a green water bottle, a herb pot for the kitchen, mint chocolate.
• Teal: a glazed bowl, a teal notebook, a silk-feel scarf, sea-salt bath salts, a swimming towel, a tin of peppermint tea.
• Blue: a navy notebook, blueberry tea, a denim tote bag, a blue ceramic cup, a jigsaw of the sea, a fountain pen with blue ink.

Purple, pink and brown

• Purple: lavender soap, plum jam, a purple yoga strap, a bag of violet sweets, a notebook with a purple ribbon, dried lavender.
• Pink: rose tea, pink grapefruit marmalade, warm socks, a peony-scented candle, raspberry chocolate, a pink pen set.
• Brown: good coffee beans, a wooden spoon set, a leather-look bookmark, dark chocolate, a cork board, cinnamon sticks with a mulled-wine spice mix.

Black, white and gold

• Black: liquorice, a black notebook with black pens, dark roast coffee, a slate coaster set, a pair of plain black socks, a chalkboard for the kitchen.
• White: a white candle, coconut sweets, a porcelain cup, a cotton tea towel, white chocolate, a snowdrop bulb kit.
• Gold: honey, chocolate coins, a brass bookmark, a gold-rimmed glass, golden syrup biscuits, a string of warm fairy lights.

Wrapping in one colour

• Plain paper in the colour is enough. Tissue paper is cheap and comes in every shade.
• No paper in that colour? Use brown paper and a wide ribbon in the colour, or a cloth bag.
• Match the card and the string too. The small things are what people notice.
• Write only the name of the person receiving it on the label. Your handwriting is a clue, so print it if you want to stay hidden.

When the colour is hard

Brown, black and white feel difficult for five minutes and then turn out to be easy: coffee, chocolate, wood, stone, paper, porcelain. If you are stuck, think of materials instead of products, and of food before objects. A set of small things in the right colour always works.