Favourite secret Santa gifts you've given/received

[happsymum]

Get names picked for us tomorrow at work! £8 limit. ideas beforehand will be so handy!

Christmas kit
Red bull/headache tablets/ sellotape and scissors/ other things I cant think of...

I got a travel wine glass last year, it's fab!!

To do list notebook, bath stuff, nice Christmas decoration.

I got a 'Photograph and video yourself anywhere!' MONOPOD for taking selfies on a long stretchy arm thingy; should be fun over Christmas :)

I got Christmas shot glasses last year, love them

Hawkins bazaar great for these items- silly sound machine was well received, grow your own girlfriend boyfriend for the singleton, small can of spirit & mixer with posh sweets, mug, group on voucher, scratch card ?

I had a tough person to buy for last year. Totally opposite to me type of woman. Very tight ,very small skirts (and the body to wear them ) all lips , eyes and hair and girly giggles.

I couldnt think of one thing for £5.00 that would do and I couldnt do the box o' chocs route beloved of some in our office.

So I decided to get lots of little things and label them with notes. For instance , a rubber with a note to say - because we all make mistakes... or a packet of sweets -because sometimes you need some sweetness in your life. I filled a medium sized gift bag with my fivers worth (thank God for B&M bargains)-although it was hard going thinking of appropriate notes by the end.

The upshot was that she loved it right from the minute she saw the bag. Sat for ages touching and wondering what was in each parcel and didnt want to open any at the Christmas party - she saved them for Christmas day. She still talks about those little presents and thinks Im an amazing woman.

Im glad I did it - but also quite pleased I have someone else this year as she kept mentioning how great it was and hoping I would be her SS again this year . It was a hard act to follow.

Love that kill me now-am going to make up notes now for my secret Santa bundle for tomorrow.

We did bad Santa version where you just buy anything, )not for a particular person) so presents can be taken off everyone and switched for what they opened until the last name was pulled out of the hat. Much fun-anyhow, my gift swapped hands most times-mini Filofax from tk maxx, 2 scratchcards & a box of maltesers. I think there's strength in the hope of a big win, (combined with the regret if someone else won it & you could have), & a useable consultation prize.

Looking forward to more ideas. Like the travel wine glass too :)

Soap that looked like a Petri dish complete with colonies of Staphylococcus. Guess that might be a bit niche.

Oh my goodness so so many great ideas! Going to struggle to chose which now! Huge thank you everyone! Excited now

Where did you get the bacteria soap? Think my son would like that!

No spring I don't know, I was the recipient not the giver!

Starbucks coffee mug with a candy cane handle. I love it.

I made a nostalgia sweet box one year. A box from B&Q for nails, screws etc with lots of little compartments and then bought sweets from the recipients childhood era so milk bottles, cola cubes etc and printed a sign off which said 'John's box of sweets' he loved it and it got passed around with everyone getting very nostalgic about old style sweets!

I have a spider catcher once, the recipient thad a real phobia and loved it.

I've been given crumb catchers twice - I'm clearly fastidious

Candy cane vodka in an 'advent calendar' bottle, an Ikea martini glass and a sachet of hot chocolate with the instructions for making a candy cane martini and some candy canes. I used cheap vodka and it came in under £10

I like nice useful or consumable gifts so have loved nice socks, retro sweets, posh bubble bath etc. I am not keen on gimmicky gifts as they just get left on one side until they get sent to the charity shop.