55 gallons of heavy duty diesel engine oil. Chocolate mint patties. A Tolkien cookbook. Stuffed animals. A Playstation 5 console. At first glance, the items above seem completely random, but they are all picks appearing on students’ Secret Santa wishlists this season.
Secret Santa is a beloved holiday tradition where participants give gifts to each other anonymously during the holiday season. Although some students may feel awkward if they aren’t familiar with their assigned gift receiver, Secret Santa is a fun activity that strengthens community, encourages thoughtfulness and spreads joy to everyone involved.
At Boston Latin School, many extracurricular activities and friend groups have participated in Secret Santa. This year, BLS German teacher Ms. Heidemarie Floerke organized an optional event for her Class I homeroom students. Interested students signed up through Google Forms, and then drew their assigned names from a hat.
Ms. Floerke explains that Secret Santa is a meaningful way for seniors to honor and celebrate their time together: “This is two years with the same group of students. […] Despite all their feelings and thoughts right now, they will miss each other and their bond. This is just one more sort of farewell — recognizing each other in the class, and that every morning you spend ten minutes together.” For seniors in particular, participating in an anonymous gift exchange is a wholesome way to commemorate their last holiday season spent with fellow BLS students and reminisce on their memories together.
Favour Ndah (I), a member of Ms. Floerke’s homeroom, expresses, “There’s a bunch of mystery behind it. Overall, it’s just a fun way to give gifts. It’s different. It’s unique.” Instead of getting gifts from close friends, whose gifts are often predictable, Secret Santa opens up the possibility for quirky gifts from people with different senses of humor and creativity.
Senior Math Seminar also held a Secret Santa exchange. Seminar student Iris Tian (I) organized the event using drawnames.com. Tian explains her reason for organizing: “I wanted something that could bring out the spirits of people in our class, especially during these stressful times. I think it’s a really fun way to break the academic mindset that we always have, and just think about something fun.”
In recent years, websites such as drawnames.com have arisen to serve as digital spaces to organize Secret Santa. On drawnames.com, participants can curate their wishlist of items they hope to receive, from candy to stationery to toys. Each participant is randomly assigned to a gift-giver who remains anonymous, and who buys items from their wishlist. It culminates in a day where gifts are exchanged, identities are uncovered and laughter is shared. Andrew Xue (I), another Senior Math Seminar student, adds, “I think it’s fun. […] It’s a nice surprise.”
Students, however, often may not know their assigned gift receiver well enough to determine what to give them. Gideon Neave (I), both a student in Ms. Floerke’s homeroom and Senior Math Seminar, reflects: “I definitely overall like Secret Santa; I think it’s fun. But I think in certain settings and certain groups that can be a little awkward.” Although not knowing one’s recipient well may decrease the excitement of Secret Santa, it is nevertheless outweighed by the anticipation of selecting a gift and the fulfillment of giving it.
In some cases, students receive wishlists with pricey items such as a car engine or a water fountain, far exceeding the set budget. They then face the dilemma of choosing a gift that is not on the wishlist, but that is still significant enough to the person so that it will be valuable. This can cause unnecessary stress for the student trying to pick the gift, as they may worry if the recipient will like it.
Neave expresses, “I would be anxious about if they would like the gift I got. There’s more risk, because they might not, or they might already have one, so I appreciate genuine wishlists.” Students should, however, keep in mind that their assigned person chose ridiculous gifts in the first place as a joke, and there is not a lot at stake — the fun is what counts.
Secret Santa is also an ideal system for large groups of friends. For many students, there is a pressure to get gifts for everyone because just gifting a couple friends will make the others feel bad. By offering a concrete wishlist and assigning everyone to one recipient, students can focus their efforts on getting the best gift for their friend without having to spend an exorbitant amount of money. Secret Santa balances the best aspects of gift giving without the restriction of feeling pressure to buy a gift for everyone.
As winter break approaches, students are eagerly anticipating the gift exchange, both to receive their gifts, but also to reveal their identities to their gift recipients. Secret Santa ultimately is a fun activity that everyone should participate in!