Secret Santa Questionnaire: 20 Questions That Save the Gift

Most bad Secret Santa gifts aren't really the giver's fault. They drew someone from accounting they've talked to twice, panicked, and bought a candle. A short questionnaire fixes that. Below you'll find 20 questions that give a Santa something real to work with, a short version you can paste straight into a group chat, and a few notes for whoever ended up organizing this year.

Why bother with a questionnaire?

With a group of close friends you can probably skip it. Everywhere else, someone is going to draw a near-stranger: the new hire, a cousin's husband, the person from the other team who's only ever seen on mute. That's where the candles and the joke mugs come from. Nobody wants to give those. It's just what you end up buying when you know nothing about a person.

A questionnaire hands the Santa a few things to hold on to. It also quietly heads off the real disasters: chocolate for someone with a nut allergy, wine for a friend who doesn't drink, a scented anything for the coworker who gets migraines.

And no, it doesn't spoil the surprise. Knowing that someone likes hiking doesn't tell you what you're getting. It mostly tells you it won't be a bath bomb.

The questions

Twenty is the full menu. Pick 10 to 15 that fit your group. Go much longer and people start answering "idk" and "anything is fine," which is honestly worse than no questionnaire at all.

The basics

Boring, but these are the answers that stop a gift from being unwearable or uneatable.

1. What are your sizes? T-shirt, sweater, and socks if you're feeling brave.
2. Any allergies or things you can't have? Food, fragrance, wool, anything.
3. Coffee, tea, both, or neither? How do you take it?
4. Do you drink alcohol, and would a bottle of something be welcome or awkward?
5. Sweet or salty?
6. Any pets? Sometimes the best gift for a person is a gift for their dog.
7. If we're mailing gifts, where should yours go?

Who you are on a day off

8. What does a free Saturday look like for you?
9. Name a show, movie, or game you could talk about for an hour.
10. What are you reading right now, or what's the last book you actually finished?
11. What music has been on repeat lately?
12. What's your style: minimal, cozy, loud, all black?
13. Do you collect anything, even a little bit?
14. Which snack would you fight someone for?

The sneaky ones

This is where the good gifts hide. Don't skip this block.

15. What's something you'd love but would never buy for yourself?
16. How do you treat yourself after a rough week?
17. What small thing makes an ordinary day better?
18. Useful, or useless but delightful? You have to pick one.
19. If your gift were an experience instead of a thing, what would it be?
20. What should your Santa absolutely not get you? Be honest, they'd rather know.

Question 15 does more work than any other on the list. "Would love it but would never buy it myself" is where you find the nice olive oil, the good pens, the merch from a show someone is slightly embarrassed to love. Question 20 is a close second. One honest answer there prevents more bad gifts than the rest of the questionnaire put together.

Short version for the group chat

Collecting answers by hand in a Google Form, a DM, or on paper stuck to the office fridge? Here's a cut-down version that fits in one message. Copy it and change the date.

Secret Santa! Please answer by Friday so your Santa isn't shopping blind:
1. Sizes (shirt / sweater):
2. Allergies or things you can't have:
3. Coffee, tea, or neither?
4. What do you do for fun?
5. A show, book, or game you love:
6. Something you'd love but would never buy yourself:
7. What NOT to get you:
8. Shipping address (only if we're mailing gifts):

Wishlists: links or no links?

Groups usually split into two camps here. Both are fine, as long as you pick one before the draw.

The surprise camp writes directions rather than products: "into herbal tea," "anything with frogs on it," "my hands are always cold." The Santa still has to think, and the gift is still a surprise. This tends to work best for friends and families.

The practical camp lists three to five specific things, links included, and the Santa picks one. There's less mystery, but also nothing that goes straight to the back of a closet. Plenty of offices prefer it, and so do a lot of grown adults, if we're being honest.

Whichever camp you're in, ask for at least three items (one item is an order, not a wishlist), keep everything inside the budget, and include a short "please don't" list.

For organizers: getting people to actually fill it out

People don't skip questionnaires because they're lazy. They skip them because "fill this out when you get a chance" sounds optional. And it is optional, right up until someone opens a keychain. What works is boring: a deadline, one reminder, and a reason. Three messages cover the whole thing.

Kickoff:
"We're doing Secret Santa! Budget is $25, gifts on December 18. Please fill out the questionnaire by Friday: [link]. It takes five minutes, and your Santa won't have to guess."

Reminder:
"7 out of 10 questionnaires are in. If yours is still blank, you're basically signing up for socks. Deadline's Thursday."

Before the draw:
"Everyone's in, so we're drawing names tonight. Last chance to add to your wishlist and give an honest answer to 'what not to get me.'"

Collect the answers before the draw, not after. The minute someone sees who they got, they start thinking about the gift. If the questionnaire shows up a week later, that's a week of their Santa staring at a blank page.

If you're the Santa

1. Read the whole thing, not just the wishlist. The best ideas are usually hiding in the Saturday answer or the treat-yourself one.
2. Look for overlaps. "Loves tea" plus "works from home" isn't a box of tea bags. It's a mug that keeps tea hot through three back-to-back meetings.
3. Check the "don't" list once more before you pay. That's a frustrating place to get it wrong.
4. Still stuck? Ask. In an online game you can message your giftee anonymously. "What's your favorite color?" doesn't give anything away.
5. Stay in the budget. Going way over is just as awkward for the person opening it as going way under.

Got the answers but still no idea? Our Secret Santa gift ideas are sorted by budget and by the kind of person you drew.

Mistakes that sink a questionnaire

• Too many questions. Thirty questions get you ten answers and twenty shrugs.
• No deadline. "Whenever you get a chance" means never.
• Everyone can see everyone's answers. A shared doc where people browse each other's wishlists takes half the fun out of the game. Only the Santa should see them.
• No "what not to get me" question. That's how the person who's allergic to lavender ends up holding lavender.
• "Surprise me" as an answer. Sweet, and completely useless to a Santa. The sneaky questions are there to make that answer hard to give.

FAQ

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