The Secret Santa tradition is one of the most common, cost-effective and customary crazes in the office at Christmas. It’s a fun, inexpensive way to kick off the festive season by exchanging Secret Santa gifts.
It’s not one hundred percent clear how the secret Santa tradition came into being. But it’s supposed the original Secret Santa was an American philanthropist named Larry Dean Stewart (1948 – 2007).
He invented the name and spent 20 years performing random acts of kindness for people throughout the year. He secretly handed out small amounts of cash to poor people, normally in the form of hundred-dollar bills. It’s believed he gave away around $1.3 million! Larry carefully guarded his identity for years; only his family and a few close friends knew the truth.
A few weeks before he died, Mr. Stewart announced that he was the “Secret Santa” who had been doling out $100 bills to needy people in Kansas City, unbeknownst to others. He stated: “I see the smiles and looks of hopelessness turn to looks of hope in an instant. After all, isn’t that what we’re put here on Earth for – to help one another?” What a man he was!
Folks soon started grasping Mr. Stewart’s notion of Secret Santa, seeing it as a way of swapping low-priced Secret Santa presents anonymously. By the time of Larry Stewart’s death, Secret Santa had become a Christmas phenomenon – nearly as big a deal as the day itself!
These days, Larry’s legacy lives on. Secret Santa is all about pleasure and originality, and there are loads of Secret Santa gift ideas that are easy on the eye as well as easy on the wallet, that’ll deliver a fun message to your recipient.
Struggling for Secret Santa ideas? You’re in the right place. If you’re on a budget, we have a whole host of Secret Santa gifts under 10 pounds! How about a personalised mug with their name and choice of beverage printed on it? Or a Santa Claus personalised chocolate bar, emblazoned with their name along with your special message?
Treemendous cards and Talking Greeting Cards make the perfect alternatives to standard greeting cards while spoof newspapers make fantastically funny Secret Santa gifts – let someone dominate the front page and be Christmas No. 1! These are just some of our inexpensive yet inspiring ideas for Secret Santa.
The tradition of handing out holiday cash was started by do-gooder, Larry Stewart, who died not long ago. But the Secret Santa rules and tradition certainly didn’t die with him.