Secret Santa Gift Ideas: Art Prints That Feel Personal
The best Secret Santa gift ideas are small, personal and easy to like: pick one thing you know about the person, such as their coffee habit, their cat or their golf, and find a gift that shows you noticed. A fun A4 art print does this well, because it looks more thoughtful than the budget and it is still on the wall long after the chocolates have gone.
Below: how to choose a Secret Santa gift, ideas grouped by interest, and which size to give.
Prints for this look
How to choose a Secret Santa gift
Secret Santa is hard because you often draw someone you only half know. Keep it simple:
- Stick to the limit. Going over makes everyone else feel awkward. Going well under looks like you forgot.
- Use one clue. The mug on their desk, the photos of their dog, the golf weekend they keep mentioning. One clue is enough to choose a print.
- Keep it friendly. For an office Secret Santa, choose something cheerful that anyone could hang at home or at their desk. Save the in-jokes for close friends.
- Think flat. A print is light, easy to wrap and easy to carry home on the train, which matters at the office party.
Cheap Secret Santa gifts often end up in a drawer. A print that matches their interests is a small gift with a longer life.
For coffee and cocktail lovers
Drinks prints are the easiest Secret Santa gifts for women and men alike, because almost everyone has a favourite.
- Coffee lovers: an espresso or Italian café print for the kitchen or the wall above their desk. Choose this for the colleague who is never without a flat white.
- Cocktail lovers: an espresso martini, negroni or spritz print for the home bar or the kitchen. Browse more gifts for cocktail lovers.
If you know their drink, you have your gift. If you only know they like a night out, a spritz is the safest bet: bright, summery and cheerful in the middle of winter.
For cat and dog lovers
Pet owners are some of the easiest people to buy for. Look for prints with a sense of humour: a cat curled up in bed, a cat reading a book, a lucky cat waving for good fortune, or a fashion-magazine dog with plenty of attitude.
Match the animal if you can. Cockapoos, poodles and greyhounds all have their own prints, and a dog lover will notice. Not sure if they are a cat or a dog person? Their phone background or the photos on their desk will usually tell you. See all our gifts for cat lovers and gifts for dog lovers.
For golfers, readers and everyone else
- Golfers: modern golf prints with rolling greens and bold colour, rather than a joke mug. Browse our gifts for golfers.
- Book lovers: calm reading prints, such as a woman lost in a book or a frog reading in bed, suit a bedroom or a reading corner.
- The mystical one: a tarot card print is a fun pick for the friend who reads horoscopes.
- The traveller: a sunny Italian piazza scene brings a little holiday to a grey December.
If they fit more than one group, go with the hobby they talk about most. It is the clearest sign of what they will enjoy seeing every day, and it shows you were listening.
Which size to give
For Secret Santa, go small. An A4 print is easy to wrap, easy to carry and fits a desk, a shelf or a small gap on any wall. A4 prints from our main range are £16, so check it suits your group's limit. Our A sizes fit standard off-the-shelf frames.
An A3 makes a bigger statement if your group has agreed a more generous limit. If you have drawn someone you really do not know, a digital gift card lets them choose from about 2,800 prints themselves.
Every print is made to order on museum-grade matte paper. For an office Secret Santa, order early so the gift is ready for the party.
