Sustainable Secret Santa

The Secret Santa is a classic in offices and friendship circles across Australia and is a brilliant way of reducing your shopping list if you want to exchange gifts with your group but don’t quite want to sap your bank account buying multiple gifts.

A simple way of making group gift-giving even more sustainable (and more affordable!) is to make it a rule that all gifts must be either second-hand, repurposed, or handmade. 

The old saying ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ really is true. Finished reading that juicy bestselling novel? Give one of your friends the pleasure of reading it too. That expensive face cream you were gifted doesn’t suit your skin type? Now is the time to find it a better home with someone else! For more sustainable holiday ideas check out our 5 Green Christmas Tips.

By repurposing things you don’t need but which still hold value, you’re not only reducing the waste which you’d otherwise have generated from buying something new, but you’re also decluttering your home in the process.

A few more ideas include houseplants, homemade cookies, or if you’re feeling creative, something knitted, folded, sewn, or painted might be the perfect thing for that friend who appreciates beautiful handmade treasures.

Learn why we are called Home Sanctuary and read,  Why Home Sanctuary, what’s in a name?

TIP: If you’re throwing a party and want to take your Secret Santa to the next level   – make it a ‘ Stealing Secret Santa’.

 The rules:

• Each person who wants to join in contributes one gift.
• One by one, each participant chooses a gift from the pile and opens it.
• The next person has the option to open a gift or to steal one which has already been opened! A person whose gift has been stolen can open another one.
• Keep going until all gifts are opened, and to avoid descending into festive chaos, make it a rule that a gift cannot be stolen more than three times.