Secret Santa alternatives for work: 12 ideas the whole office will enjoy
By the Mission Memories team · Updated
The short answer
Good Secret Santa alternatives for work involve everyone without anyone spending money they'd rather not. Popular options are a festive photo challenge, a charity donation in place of gifts, a white elephant swap with a low limit, a Christmas quiz and a team treat from the budget. For mixed or hybrid teams, a photo challenge works best because people take part from wherever they are and it ends with a gallery of the team's Christmas.
Why teams look for alternatives
- Not everyone wants to spend money, or knows the colleague they've drawn.
- Gifts for people you barely know end up as novelty mugs nobody wants.
- Remote and hybrid teams can't swap presents in person easily.
- Some colleagues don't celebrate Christmas and would rather not take part in a gift exchange.
12 alternatives at a glance
| Idea | Cost per person | Effort | Works remote? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Festive photo challenge | £0 | Low | Yes |
| Charity donation instead | Optional | Low | Yes |
| White elephant swap (£5 limit) | £5 | Low | Partly |
| Christmas quiz | £0 | Medium | Yes |
| Bake-off or mince pie tasting | £2–5 | Medium | No |
| Team treat from the budget | £0 to staff | Low | Partly |
| Christmas jumper day for charity | £1–2 | Low | Yes |
| Kindness advent calendar | £0 | Low | Yes |
| Book swap | £0–5 | Low | Partly |
| Volunteering afternoon | £0 | Medium | No |
| Festive playlist of everyone's picks | £0 | Low | Yes |
| Thank-you cards to each other | £0–1 | Low | Yes |
1. A festive photo challenge
Give everyone a list of Christmas photo missions ("recreate a Christmas card photo with your team", "find the best decorated desk") and a week to complete them. Points go on a live leaderboard and the photos end up in one gallery. It costs nothing per person, includes people working from home, and the winner gets a prize from the party budget. See 50 ideas.
2. A charity donation instead of gifts
Pool what people would have spent and give it to a charity the team chooses together. Make it optional and anonymous so nobody feels pressured.
3. A white elephant swap with a low limit
Everyone brings one wrapped gift under £5 and people take turns picking or stealing. It keeps the fun of opening presents without anyone needing to know the person they're buying for.
4. A Christmas quiz
Rounds on Christmas films, songs and the company's own year. Run it at the party or on a video call for remote teams.
5 to 12: quick ideas
- Bake-off or mince pie tasting, with a vote for the winner.
- A team treat from the budget: breakfast, a lunch out or an early finish.
- Christmas jumper day, with a small donation to charity.
- A kindness advent calendar: one small kind act for a colleague each day.
- A book swap: bring a book you loved, take one home.
- A volunteering afternoon at a local charity.
- A shared festive playlist of everyone's favourite Christmas song.
- Thank-you cards: everyone writes one note to someone who helped them this year.
How to choose
- Mostly remote? Pick the photo challenge, the quiz or the playlist.
- Tight budget? The photo challenge, the kindness calendar and thank-you cards cost nothing.
- Big company? A photo challenge scales to hundreds of people with one leaderboard.
- Want something meaningful? Combine the charity donation with thank-you cards.
Run a festive photo challenge for the whole team on Mission Memories. Colleagues join from a link, no app needed. Free for up to 5 people; £4.99 for up to 40 and £19.99 for up to 120.
Frequently asked questions
What can we do instead of Secret Santa at work?
A festive photo challenge, a charity donation, a white elephant swap with a £5 limit, a Christmas quiz or a team treat paid from the budget. Photo challenges and quizzes work best for remote and hybrid teams.
What's a free alternative to Secret Santa?
A Christmas photo challenge costs nothing per person: everyone completes festive photo missions on their phone and the winner gets a prize. Mission Memories runs it free for up to 5 people.
How do you include remote workers in Christmas activities?
Choose activities people can join from anywhere: a photo challenge with a shared gallery, an online quiz, a shared playlist or thank-you notes sent by email.
Run it with Mission Memories
Free for 5 guests. Guests join with your code from their phone's browser, no app needed.