A Secret Santa questionnaire is a short list of questions that everyone answers before the draw, so their Secret Santa knows what to buy. Below are 30 questions to copy and send, split by topic. Pick 8 to 10; nobody fills in a long form in December.
When the answers are in, draw names with the Secret Santa generator. Each person gets a private link that shows only who they're buying for.
What should a Secret Santa questionnaire include?
Three things, and the rest is extra credit:
- Sizes, if clothes are on the table.
- No-gos: allergies, foods they avoid, things they really don't want.
- A few favorites: color, snack, drink, hobby.
With those, nobody ends up with a scented candle they're allergic to. The 30 questions below cover all three, plus a few to make it fun.
The basics
- What's your name, as the group knows you?
- What sizes do you wear (shirt, pants, shoes)?
- Any allergies or foods you avoid?
- Anything you don't want at all?
- Do you prefer something useful or something fun?
Favorites
- What's your favorite color?
- Favorite snack or candy?
- Favorite drink: coffee, tea, something else?
- Favorite scent for candles, soap or lotion?
- Favorite store or online shop?
- Favorite book, show or movie lately?
- Favorite sports team?
- What music do you listen to most?
Hobbies and free time
- What do you do on a free Saturday?
- Any hobby you'd like to try?
- Do you cook or bake?
- Do you have pets? What are their names?
- Do you collect anything?
- Indoor or outdoor person?
Gift style
- One small thing that would make your week better?
- Something you keep meaning to buy for yourself?
- Experiences or things?
- Practical or silly?
- Handmade gifts: yes or no?
- Gift cards: yes or no? Which store?
For coworkers
- What's on your desk that you'd like to upgrade?
- Coffee mug person or water bottle person?
- Snacks you'd share with the team?
- Anything you'd rather not get at work?
- Your work-friendly guilty pleasure?
For family and kids
Family exchanges mix ages, so keep the questions simple enough for a 9-year-old and useful enough for Grandpa:
- Sweet or salty?
- Board games, card games or puzzles?
- What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
- What are you learning or practicing this year?
- Something for your room you'd love to have?
For younger kids, a parent can fill in the answers. Ask for sizes too: kids grow faster than gift lists.
Printable or digital?
Either works. For an office, a shared doc or the group chat is faster, and nobody loses a piece of paper. For a family party, paste the questions into a document, print one page per person and collect them in a box. Old school, but it works, and the handwriting is half the fun.
Fun questions for the exchange day
The questionnaire helps people shop. These help the party. Ask them while gifts go around:
- What's the best gift you've ever received?
- What's the worst one? No names, please.
- Which holiday movie do you watch every year?
- What tradition does your family do that others find strange?
- If you could swap gifts with anyone in the room, who would it be?
Good Secret Santa clues
Some groups reveal who's who with clues before the big moment. The gift-giver writes three hints on the card, from vague to obvious:
- Something only the group would know, like "I'm always the first one in the office."
- A favorite thing, like "I drink my coffee black."
- A near giveaway, like "I sit two desks to your left."
The receiver guesses after each clue. Fair warning: the person who guesses on clue one will brag about it until next December.
How to send the questionnaire
- Paste the questions you picked into your group chat or a shared doc.
- Ask everyone to answer before a set day.
- Draw names with the Secret Santa generator. Add couples as pairs so they don't draw each other, and set a suggested amount and date if you like.
- Send each person their link. Each link shows only its owner's match, so they look up that person's answers and shop.
The generator doesn't collect the answers; the questionnaire lives in your chat or doc. That also means nobody has to sign up or share an email.
What to look for in a Secret Santa generator
- No sign-up. If people need an account to see a name, someone always forgets their password.
- Private links. Each person should see only their own match, organizer included.
- Exclusions. Couples or roommates shouldn't draw each other.
- A budget and a date in the message, so nobody has to ask twice.
The Secret Santa generator does all four, for 3 to 50 people, and the draw runs in your browser.
Tips for a better questionnaire
- Keep it short. Eight to ten questions get answered. Thirty don't.
- Ask about no-gos. One question about what someone doesn't want saves a wasted gift.
- Set a budget first. Put the amount in the message, so answers fit what people will spend.
- Collect answers before the draw. If someone joins late, you'd have to draw again.
Ready to draw names?
Send the questions, collect the answers, then open the Secret Santa generator. Running white elephant instead, where people steal gifts? Use the random name picker to set the turn order.
