By the time December rolls around, gift giving season is everywhere. Stores fill with Christmas decorations, playlists loop holiday music, and group chats start making plans. For many teens and young adults, that means Secret Santa. The tradition to have a group of people anonymously exchange gifts has widely spread throughout workplaces, friend groups, sports teams, and clubs. What seems like a simple exchange has become a meaningful ritual of connection, mystery, and creativity.
For some people, the excitement comes from the idea of giving gifts to the people they love.
“I think it’s fun to pick something out for someone that you think they will like,” Violet Keefe, junior, said.
Secret Santa usually starts with a simple name drawing, sometimes online, sometimes just written on a piece of paper. Most times the group will set a spending limit, make a list of their likes and dislikes and then spend some time to pick out something thoughtful for the person they have chosen.
“I like that it forces you to pay attention to people that you don’t really know a lot about or talk to much,” Charlotte Keefe, freshman, said.
Charlotte participated in Secret Santa last year with her cousins. “You usually learn what people like by being around them a lot and noticing the things they like,” Keefe, freshman, said.
Sometimes it might be difficult to buy gifts when you are given a spending limit. It might also be difficult if you are not familiar with the person whose name you drew. However, the difficulties of this tradition sometimes make it more fun. Getting to see the reaction of the person you chose and making a friendship and bond with someone over something so small is so exciting.
For others the fun comes from the connection it creates between people who might not even talk.
“One year I got paired with one of my coworkers that I did not know at all. It was hard to buy a gift for them because I was unsure of what they liked and didn’t really know anything about them,” Sarina Fares, senior, said.
This tradition has continued to grow, especially with the number of different ways to decide who buys for who in the exchange. Smaller friend groups use Secret Santa to cut down on the stress of buying multiple gifts for each other, while bigger groups use it as a way to bond with each other.
The high school orchestra has been doing Secret Santa for many years. The participants enjoy doing it because it is a time they get to spend together as a whole group.
“We do not have many opportunities to get together outside of rehearsals, so the tradition is something I think we all look forward to,” Olivia Kleinschmidt, senior, said.
While getting and giving all the gifts is fun, students say the best part is the final reveal of who bought you your gift: when everyone discovers who has been behind the notes and surprises and has carefully hidden their identity.
“It’s always the person you would least expect,” Kate Jurcich, senior said. “But that’s what makes it so fun. It’s like one little moment where everyone feels included. Having someone you might not talk to much, you get to bond with them and make new memories,” she said.
In the time of midterms, long nights, and the stress of the end of the semester, Secret Santa offers something simple, a chance to slow down and spread kindness while spending time with your friends and family.
