How much should you spend on a Secret Santa gift?

Up to £10. In an instantprint survey of UK office workers, published in November 2022, up to £10 was the most common answer to what people would spend, given by 13%, and the company advised a budget in that range. The spread was wide: by industry, average spends ran from social care and teaching, at the bottom, to IT, at the top with under £20.

Most people who do Secret Santa do it at work. Of the 2,000 people who had done Secret Santa in Confused.com’s 2025 survey, 78% took part with work colleagues, 30% with friends and 26% with family.

The surveys we found do not split them. In a NatWest poll of 2,000 Britons in December 2024, the 36% who did Secret Santa set an average budget over £30; the release does not say which groups. For scale, among Britons who buy a friend a Christmas present, YouGov’s November 2025 survey found a median spend from £11 up to £20, and more on a sibling.

Many do not. Confused.com found people went over their Secret Santa budget by over £10 on average. In research for Freenow, reported in December 2025, close to two-thirds of UK participants exceed the agreed limit, some by up to £20; the report gives no sample size.

In our view, going over is not the generous choice it looks: the person who drew you is held to the same limit, and the gifts are opened side by side.

Ask the organiser before you buy, and suggest one if they have not. At work we would suggest up to £10, the most common budget in the instantprint survey. Among friends or family, agree the figure in the group chat first rather than guessing.