Growing up, Santa Claus was an old man from the North Pole with a white beard and an extravagant sledge. Now, as adults, our Santa looks an awful lot like the colleagues we share a cup of coffee with. As December comes around, it is time for Secret Santa, a gift giving tradition where a group of people draws names anonymously, and then secretly purchases gifts for their assigned person.

While most Secret Santas work on a budget, gifts tend to include anything that reminds the Santa of the receiver: from the vinyl of a favourite song to a utilitarian piece of decor, or even a bar of chocolate. Shreya V, a Master’s student from Hyderabad who conducts Secret Santa with her friends every year, says that to her this tradition helps them stay in touch with each other: “Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Udaipur, Dehradun, we are all far off in different cities and yet we have made sure that the tradition of Secret Santa continues”.

Beyond the office space, cultural departments in colleges and universities are also increasingly adopting this gift giving activity to help the batch students connect with one another. Jebisha RS, a student of Stella Maris College in Chennai, is a representative that helps hostel wardens organise Secret Santa. She says that the game plays a key role in celebrating the festival of Christmas in the college: “It’s a special event and we all participate.”

The act of being someone’s Secret Santa does not have to be restricted to gifts, it can also be delivered through other mediums, such as heartfelt letters. “This tradition of Christmas letters has become a cherished part of our college culture — an opportunity to express gratitude, appreciation, and love,” says Abhijay Gaur, co-organiser of Secret Santa letters at Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune. He explains that the timeless charm of letters is what drives the budget-friendly tradition, “there’s no better time than Christmas to spread joy and acknowledge the people who make a difference in our lives”. The tradition now plays a key role in the celebration of the holiday spirit on campus.

Another unconventional form of Secret Santa, the Book Secret Santa on X (formely Twitter) is a country-wide digital Secret Santa wherein participants are randomly allotted another individual across the country with their reading preferences following which they have to exchange books with their “Santy.” Co-Founder Aamna Khan started this with fellow reading enthusiasts Suhas Motwani and Sowmya Rao six years ago because they were in search of a space like this for themselves. “It is something we do for the community. We want people to find a book they like, and meet someone they like,” says Aamna. Over 300 people have registered for the Book Secret Santa this year, and the books gifted are of varied genres.

Secret Santa is also a popular tradition at offices. Riddhi Wadhia, assistant manager, Human Resources at Pilgrim, is a part of the organising team for her office Secret Santa. While explaining the enthusiastic participation of over 180 employees, she says, “When employees are happy, they are more likely to stay with the company.”

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly on. So what is Secret Santa bringing you this year?