What to write in a Secret Santa card

Keep it short and about them

A good card says one thing about the person and one about the gift. Two or three lines are enough. Leave out anything that points at you: a shared joke only you two know, your handwriting, the pen everyone has seen on your desk.

For a colleague

• Merry Christmas! Thank you for making Monday mornings easier. I hope this does the same.
• For the person who always knows where the file is. Enjoy the holidays.
• A small thank-you for a year of good work and better coffee breaks.
• Wishing you a quiet inbox and a loud Christmas.

For a friend

• I saw this and thought of you at once. Merry Christmas!
• For all the evenings that ran late this year. Here is to more of them.
• You said you wanted one of these in March. Somebody was listening.
• Open carefully. Or do not; you never do.

For family

• Merry Christmas from someone at this table.
• One gift this year, chosen with ten gifts' worth of thought.
• For the best cook in the family. This is for you, not for the kitchen.
• With love, from your Secret Santa. Guess who.

Funny lines

• I kept to the budget. Mostly.
• This was the second thing I bought you. The first one I kept.
• No receipt included. I believe in you.
• Santa checked the list twice. You only just made it.

For a colour or a challenge exchange

• My colour was green. I may have got carried away.
• Everything in here is blue, including how I felt looking for blue wrapping paper.
• You asked for "soft", "round" and "for Sunday morning". Here is my answer.
• Your challenge was harder than it looked. I hope I passed.

Clues for a guessing game

If the group guesses the Santas before the reveal, a clue on the card makes it more fun. Keep it true and a little vague:

• We have known each other for more than five years.
• I sit closer to the window than you do.
• You once lent me an umbrella and never got it back.
• My name has the same number of letters as yours.

How to stay anonymous

• Print the card, or write in capital letters.
• Sign it "Your Secret Santa" and nothing else.
• Use wrapping paper nobody has seen at your home or on your desk.
• Do not be the first to ask "so, who had whom?".