Secret Santa Questionnaire for Coworkers: 20 Good Questions

Secret Santa questionnaire for coworkers in 30 seconds

A Secret Santa questionnaire for coworkers is a short form each person fills in before names are drawn, so their Secret Santa knows what to buy and what to skip. At work, keep it to about 10 to 20 light questions: drinks, snacks, hobbies, colors, desk items and a clear "please no" line for allergies and things they already have.

• Send it with the invitation, 3 to 4 weeks before the exchange
• Ask the spending limit and the exchange date at the top of the form
• Make every question optional, and leave sizes and personal topics off
• Give each Santa only their own person's answers, never the whole stack

20 good Secret Santa questions for coworkers

Pick the ones that fit your team. Ten is plenty for a quick form; all 20 still fit on one printed page if you keep the answer lines short. The first five do most of the work, because they tell a Santa what to buy and what not to buy.

• 1. What is your usual coffee or tea order (or neither)?
• 2. What is your favorite snack or treat?
• 3. Any allergies or foods you avoid?
• 4. What do you already have too many of? (mugs, candles, socks...)
• 5. Please no: anything you would rather not get?
• 6. What is your favorite color?
• 7. What do you do for fun outside work?
• 8. Favorite store or restaurant, or a gift card you would actually use?
• 9. Sweet or salty?
• 10. Practical gift or fun gift?
• 11. Something that would make your desk or workday better?
• 12. Scented things like candles and hand cream: yes or no?
• 13. A book, show, game or music genre you love?
• 14. Do you have plants at your desk, and do they survive?
• 15. Night in or night out?
• 16. Go-to lunch or takeout order?
• 17. Are you collecting anything right now?
• 18. A small treat you would never buy yourself?
• 19. A gift idea or two within the spending limit?
• 20. One fun fact about you (this one also feeds the guessing game later).

What to leave off a work questionnaire

A family form can ask almost anything. A work form should only ask what a coworker could ask you in the break room. These are the usual trouble spots:

• Clothing and shoe sizes. If your printed form has a sizes line, mark it optional or tell people to leave it blank.
• Alcohol. Skip it unless you know the whole team is comfortable, and never make it the default gift.
• Home addresses. If a remote team ships gifts, the organizer collects addresses privately and passes each one to one Santa only.
• Family, relationship status, religion, politics and health beyond allergies.
• Anything about bodies or appearance, like skincare goals or fitness plans.
• Wording that assumes everyone celebrates Christmas. "Gift exchange" or "holiday swap" works for everyone.

What you need before you send it

Decide the basics first, so the questionnaire goes out with everything people need to know.

• A spending limit. Under $15, $15 to $25 or $25 to $50 are the common bands for an office.
• Three dates: a sign-up deadline, the day names are drawn, and the exchange day.
• A location (or a video call link for a remote team) and the name of the person to ask questions.
• A way to collect forms: printed copies in a folder, or a fillable PDF people email back to the organizer only.
• One organizer who can keep a secret. They see every answer and every match.

How to run it, step by step

This is the order the organizer guide in our Secret Santa kit uses, and it works the same with any form.

• 1. Three to four weeks before: send the invitation with the spending limit, dates and location, plus the questionnaire.
• 2. Collect every form by the sign-up deadline. List everyone on an organizer tracker with a column for who has whom.
• 3. Two to three weeks before: draw names. Write each name on a slip, fold, and draw from a hat; if you pull your own name, put it back and draw again.
• 4. Remote or hybrid team? The organizer draws for everyone and sends each person their match privately.
• 5. Give each Santa a copy of their person's questionnaire and wish list, and nothing else.
• 6. One week before: remind everyone of the date and the spending limit.
• 7. Exchange day: label gifts with an anonymous "From your Secret Santa" tag, play a guessing game, then reveal.

By team size and setting

The form stays the same; how you run the swap changes with the group.

• Small teams of 5 to 10: a full one-page questionnaire is fine, and the reveal can be one gift at a time.
• Teams of 10 to 20: switch to a half-page form so people actually finish it, and track everything on one sheet.
• Bigger departments: split into groups of 10 to 15 that draw names separately, so nobody gets a stranger from another floor. Our office Christmas party games for large groups guide uses the same circles for the gift swap.
• Remote teams: email fillable forms, collect them in one private inbox, and set a ship-by date a week before the call.
• Mixed in-office and remote: agree up front whether gifts are mailed or handed over, so nobody is left out on exchange day.

Common mistakes and tips

Most Secret Santa trouble at work comes from a vague form or answers that leak.

• Asking for links is the single most useful tip. One link to the exact mug beats ten answers about favorite colors.
• Do not post everyone's answers in a team chat. Private answers stay between the person, the organizer and their Santa.
• Keep the "please no" and "too many of" lines. They stop the third scented candle and the 40th mug.
• Collect forms at least a week before shopping starts, so there is time to order online.
• Have a backup plan for late sign-ups: the organizer keeps one spare gift within the limit.
• Want a different format? Instead of drawing names, try the left right Christmas game, where wrapped gifts move around the circle while someone reads a story aloud.

A printable Secret Santa questionnaire for coworkers

If you would rather not build the form yourself, the Secret Santa Questionnaire Printable is a 10-page kit in US Letter, as a fillable PDF and an editable Word file. Page 1 is an organizer guide with the timeline above and gift ideas by budget. Page 2 is an invitation with spending limit, sign-up, draw and exchange dates, and location. Page 3 is the full questionnaire (favorites, interests, a 12-option "I love..." checklist, optional sizes, allergies, a "Please no..." line, a wish list and a fun fact). Page 4 is a half-page version, 2 per page, for big teams.

The rest of the kit covers the swap itself: name draw slips (16 per page), an organizer tracker for up to 20 people with a "Questionnaire in?" and "Gift ready?" column, an 8-line wish list with a "things I already have plenty of" box, "From Your Secret Santa" gift tags (12 per page), a Guess Your Secret Santa game, and thank-you notes (4 per page). The invitation, questionnaires, tracker, wish list and guessing game type in on screen; the slips, tags and notes are made to write on by hand. You can see the Secret Santa kit on Etsy here.

• Party after the swap? The Office Christmas Party Games set has 8 work-friendly games with a host guide and an easy 1-hour plan, including a Guess the Coworker fact form you send a week ahead. It pairs well with question 20 on the list above. See the office party games on Etsy.
• More gift exchange and party printables are in the Christmas & New Year shop section, and the holiday party games hub sorts games by occasion and group size.