Life

20 Secret Santa Ideas and Gifts Your Office Friends Will Actually Want

‘Tis the season ... when you’re asked to get a coworker you may barely know a gift that's inexpensive and not lame. (Because you have nothing else to do, right?) Here are 20 Secret Santa gifts under $20 that fulfill that tall order.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites

Is there a person in your office who’s not going to be excited about this gift? There is not. And with any luck, your recipient will share.

Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Peanut Butter Bites, $11, Amazon

Bitches Notebooks

If your workplace is more, um, casual and your recipient has a sense of humor, these notebooks could be the perfect place for his or her to-do lists in 2014.

Bitches Notebook Set of Five, $10, Amazon

Letterpress Calendar

Each card in this gorgeous calendar is printed on recycled paper, and the set includes the clear display stand. January doesn’t look so bleak when pictured next to a box of macarons.

Handmade 2016 Letterpress Desk Calendar, $16, Amazon

Paper Airplane Push Pins

Add a little bit of whimsy to his or her bulletin board. If your Secret Santa spending limit is $20, pair them with the Stop Talking cards or Pen Orgy case for a package gift.

Paper Airplane Push Pins, $6, Amazon

'Crackers & Dips' Cookbook

For the master snacker, a guide to making delicious dips and crackers from scratch. Store-bought chips and salsa are for amateurs.

Crackers & Dips: More Than 50 Handmade Snacks, $16, Amazon

Ryan Gosling Earrings

For the colleague who will never be over Ryan. Ever.

Ryan Gosling Studs, $17, Amazon

Recipe Notecards

To the coworker who loves to cook, give the gift of beet greens, corny corn bread, heirloom tomato soup, roasted beets & peaches, rosemary lemonade, and snow peas with mint. The illustrations make these cards frame-worthy, but your recipient can also just use them as notecards.

Farmers Market Recipes Greeting Card Set - Pack of 6, $25, Amazon

Vodka Mug

Help your work friend keep his or her boss or, better yet, junior coworkers guessing.

There’s A Chance This Could Be Vodka Coffee Mug, $11, Amazon

Pen Orgy Case

A pen cup has nothing on this cheeky and very inclusive pen case. It’s portable, for one thing, and casual pen thieves are also less likely to “borrow” his or her pens if they have to unzip a bright yellow case to get to them.

Glossy Pencil Case, $10, Amazon

Agate Bookends

Unexpected, modern, and elegant: these bookends fit equally well on a shelf in a wood-paneled private office and a desk in an open-plan loft.

Agate bookends, $16, Amazon

'Understand Rap'

For the colleague you’re not sure knows who Biggie Smalls was. It’s time to blow his or her mind.

Understand Rap, $10, Amazon

Downton Abbey Tea

Rose-flavored tea from The Republic of Tea is just the thing to get your recipient ready for the return of the Dowager Countess.

Downton Abbey English Tea, $11, Amazon

Like a Boss iPhone Case

Perfect for the work friend who recently got promoted to a management position, or an existing boss with a sense of humor.

Like A Boss Hard Case, $7, Amazon

Gold Accent Sticky Notes

This set of four sticky pads and three books of page flags features gold accents that are both cute and stylish — exactly what we’ve come to expect from Kate Spade stationery.

Kate Spade Sticky Note Set - Gold, $16, See Jane Work

Classic Globe Paperweight

So you drew your new boss, whose tastes you aren’t familiar with at all. Not a problem. This paperweight will fit in nicely on most desks and looks way more expensive than it is.

Two’s Company Lanier Globe Paperweight, $22, Amazon

Summer Scented Candle

As we wind around to the coldest part of the year, get him or her a reminder that mint, watermelon, and lemon exist and will be back. Even if your workplace doesn’t permit burning candles, the container will brighten any desk.

Summer Scented Candle, $17, Amazon

‘Stop Talking’ Cards

For the concise colleague always forced to endure others’ long-windedness. Even if your recipient never issues these cards to anyone, he’ll appreciate having them.

Stop Talking Cards, $10, Paper-Source

The Onion 2014 Daily Desk Calendar

No one does work humor better than The Onion. Get your giftee a whole year of office sarcasm.

A Dumb Thoughtless Gift, $13, The Onion

Private Supply Boxes

Perfect for tampons, medicine and anything else she’d rather not show the whole office every time she needs it.

Private Supply Boxes 3 Pack, $19, Fab

NYC Burger Map

If your coworker is NYC based and appreciates red meat, this gift is a treasure map. Challenge him or her to hit all 41 burger joints featured by the end of 2014, and offer to play wing woman.

New York Burger Map, $8, Neither Fish Nor Fowl

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