Zero Waste Christmas #2: Secret Santa

Welcome to the second day of our Zero Waste Christmas. Today’s topic is one of those Christmas conundrums, Secret Santa! It’s the same in offices across the country, you’ve pulled a name out the hat and now you’re franticly trying to remember who Dave is and figure out what on earth you can get him for £5 or under.

Well, steer away from those gag gifts that will end up in the bin come Boxing Day, we’ve got the answer for some fun Secret Santa gifts to be enjoyed by all and to keep out of landfill. Do something different, organise a zero waste themed Secret Santa this year. The possibilities are almost endless. Here’s a few themes that we’ve seen in offices over the years:

Locally Made: Discover your local shops and share the treats that they hold. It could be local jam or chocolates, a locally made scarf, it’s a great chance to support your local shops and designers and discover something new.

Gifts from Charity Shops: Charity shops have a fantastic range of gifts, from crystal vases to DVDs this is a brilliant way to get something really nice and fun with your Secret Santa pennies and supports great causes too.

Handmade Gifts: If you’re a creative bunch you could give this a go, even if you’re not you might surprise yourself and your colleagues. Favourites we’ve seen around include: egg box garden kits complete with seeds; lavender scented sock bunnies; Christmas cookies, chilli oil, Lemoncello, a recipe book and Christmas bunting.

Edible (and drinkable) gifts: Surely this is a gift that won’t find its way into the bin, it could be a couple of local craft beers, some special chocolates, you could even do some home baking.

Recipes: This could be one yummy treat. For this Secret Santa give your favourite recipes. You might even be lucky and find a flurry of home baked treats in the office in the New Year. You could collect all your recipes together and make an office recipe book to give to everyone.

Books: What is a greater gift that a good book? If you’re colleagues are the literary type this could be a great idea. Share your favourite books, or a book found in a charity shop. You could even use them to start a re-use book library in the breakout lounge.

Re-used form Home: We all have those things in our house, the ouzo we brought back from holiday and haven’t touched, the recipe book that we bought forgetting we already had a copy at home, the scented candles we won in a raffle 3 years ago that are still unopened in the cupboard under the stairs. Well this Secret Santa gives you a chance to give a re-used gift from home. You’ll be amazed at what your colleagues will uncover and the fun you’ll all have with it.

Santa’s Charity: Give to a good cause, those that wish to take part donate an agreed amount (e.g. £2, £5) into a Santa’s Charity Pot and their name also goes in a hat. When you’re ready pull a name out of the hat and that lucky person gets to nominate a charity important to them to receive this year’s full Santa’s Charity Pot.

Are you planning a Zero Waste Secret Santa? Let us know and share your ideas and inspiration on our Facebook and Twitter.

Keep following our Zero Waste Christmas for lots more ideas on zero waste presents and all your Christmas details, right down to the bows on your wrapping paper.

Published by zerowastedunbar

The Zero Waste Dunbar project is looking at becoming one of Scotland's first Zero Waste Towns. What do you think this will entail?