Secret Santa Gifts Under £10 They'll Actually Want

The best Secret Santa gifts under £10 are small, useful and a little bit fun: a carved wooden phone stand for the desk, a coffee-scented candle, a bath fizzer, a solar-powered lucky cat or a wooden frog that actually croaks. Choose for the person you've drawn rather than for "the office", keep it under a tenner, and avoid anything that could be read as personal. Below are 12 ideas, sorted by who you've pulled out of the hat.

12 gifts under £10, at a glance

• Wooden Carved Phone Stand: best for the desk-bound colleague
• Velvet Notebook, Make It Happen: best for the list-maker
• Flip Dinner Candle / Tealight Holder: best for the cosy one
• Box of 6 Wax Melts, Brandy Butter: best for anyone who already owns an oil burner
• Raw Crystal Tea Strainer: best for the loose-leaf devotee
• Coffee in the Club candle: best for the coffee drinker
• Agnes + Cat Bath Fizzer: best for the self-care fan
• Lazy Sloth Lavender Eye Pillow: best for a lie-down after the office party
• Mini Solar Powered Money Cat: best for the one with a sense of humour
• Small Croaking Wooden Frog: best for the desk everyone stops at
• Mint Rock Mini Speaker: best for the one who's impossible to buy for
• Fortune Cats Playing & Oracle Cards: best for the easiest wrap in this list

Full picks, with why each one suits the person, below.

The desk-bound colleague

They're at their desk before you arrive and still there when you leave. Give them something that makes that desk a nicer place to be.

A carved wooden phone stand

The Wooden Carved Phone Stand, Tree of Life is hand-carved from mango wood in India and fits most smartphones, so their phone stays upright for video calls or charging instead of lying face-down under a pile of paperwork. Because it's natural wood, the grain varies from one stand to the next, which makes it feel like a proper present rather than something grabbed at the till.

A velvet notebook with a pep talk on the front

For the list-maker, the Dark Green Velvet Notebook, Make It Happen has a soft velvet cover embossed in silver lettering and 80 lined pages inside. It's handmade, it looks smart on a meeting-room table, and the motto on the front does the motivating so you don't have to.

The cosy one

Blanket on the sofa by October, first to suggest a hot drink. Anything that adds a bit of glow to a dark evening will go down well.

A candle holder that flips

The Flip Dinner Candle / Tealight Holder in Antique Amber is a glass holder that does two jobs: one way up it holds a dinner candle, flip it over and it takes a tealight. It's a clever little thing for a small flat or a crowded windowsill, and it also comes in Royal Blue, Midnight Grey and Garden Jade if amber isn't their colour.

Wax melts that smell like Christmas

If they already own an oil burner, a Box of 6 Wax Melts in Brandy Butter is about as festive as a gift gets without involving an actual pudding. The melts are a soy wax blend with no paraffin, each one sits in its own cardboard divider so they never fuse together, and they're used one at a time, so the box lasts well into the new year.

The tea or coffee person

You know the one: their mug has its own spot in the office cupboard, and heaven help anyone who moves it.

A crystal tea strainer

For the loose-leaf devotee, the Raw Crystal Gemstone Tea Strainer, Amethyst Cluster pairs a fine stainless-steel mesh with a genuine piece of raw amethyst, so no two are quite alike. Amethyst is traditionally associated with serenity and calm, which is no bad thing at nine o'clock on a Monday.

A coffee-scented candle

Coffee drinkers get the Coffee in the Club concrete pot candle: a compact grey pot with a natural wooden wick that crackles gently as it burns, and felt pads underneath to protect whatever it sits on. Once the candle has burned down, the pot makes a neat home for a small plant, so the gift outlives the wax.

The self-care fan

They take their lunch break seriously and have firm views on bath time. Treat them, but make sure it reads as a treat and not a hint.

A bath fizzer with a cheerful name

The Agnes + Cat Bath Fizzer in Rhubarb Rhubarb is handmade in small batches in Sheffield with British fragrance oils and cocoa butter, and it's vegan and cruelty-free. The scent is bright and fruity, and the fizzer snaps in half if they'd rather have two shorter soaks than one long one.

A lavender eye pillow in a gift box

Filled with wheat seeds soaked in lavender essential oil inside a natural cotton and juco cover, the Lazy Sloth Lavender Eye Pillow rests over the eyes and forehead and blocks out the light, which is ideal for a ten-minute lie-down after the office party. It comes in its own gift box, so there's less wrapping for you.

The one with a sense of humour

Every office has one. They'll love a gift that makes people stop at their desk and ask, "What on earth is that?"

A solar-powered lucky cat

The Mini Solar Powered Money Cat in Box, Gold is a little gold waving cat with red detailing, about 7 x 5.5 x 5cm, in a clear display box. A small solar panel powers its paw, so it waves whenever it catches natural or bright indoor light, with no batteries to buy. Pop it near a window and it will wave at everyone who walks past, which is more enthusiasm than most of us can manage in December.

A wooden frog that croaks

Hand-carved in Bali, the Small Croaking Wooden Frog stands about 6cm tall and comes with its own wooden stick. Stroke it gently with the stick and it gives a surprisingly realistic croak. It's part ornament, part conversation piece and part very small musical instrument, and it will be picked up by everyone who passes their desk.

The one who's impossible to buy for

They have everything, want nothing, and say "oh, you shouldn't have" as if they mean it. Aim for something useful they wouldn't think to buy for themselves, or something they definitely don't own yet.

A mini Bluetooth speaker

The Mint Rock Mini Speaker is a Bluetooth speaker about 55 x 59mm, finished in a cool mint with a textured, rock-inspired design. It charges by USB, plays for up to four hours on a charge, and two of them can be paired for stereo sound, handy if someone else in the office has drawn a music lover too.

A lucky cat card deck

Illustrated with beckoning cats, torii gates and soft pastel colours, the Fortune Cats Playing & Oracle Cards is a 54-card deck that comes in an illustrated box. Use it for an ordinary game of cards, or draw one each morning for a bit of light-hearted fortune-telling. It's also one of the easiest things in this list to wrap.

Quick tips for a good Secret Santa

• Stick to the budget. The limit is there so nobody feels out-spent. Going well over it is almost as awkward as turning up with a single satsuma.
• Think about who it's for. Buy for the person you drew, not the thing you'd secretly like yourself. Five minutes spent thinking about their desk, their mug or their lunch break goes a long way.
• Avoid anything too personal. Nothing romantic, nothing that could be taken as a hint (deodorant, diet books, anti-wrinkle cream), and nothing you'd be embarrassed to see opened in front of the whole team.
• Make it look like you tried. A few of the picks above come in their own box, which saves a wrestling match with the sticky tape.
• Don't leave it to the last minute. The office party always arrives sooner than you think.

The office test: if you'd be happy to watch them open it in front of everyone, their manager included, it's a good Secret Santa gift.

Finding the right one

Secret Santa doesn't have to be a chore or a gamble. Think about who you've drawn, pick something small that suits them, and keep it under a tenner. Buying for the family too? Try our stocking fillers under £5 and Christmas gifts under £20. If nothing here is quite right, browse our Secret Santa gifts for £5 to £20 budgets or everything in our gifts under £10 collection, and you'll find something they'll actually want to take home.