A quarter of Singaporean employees will play Secret Santa

Christmas is approaching and new YouGov research reveals that a quarter of Singaporean employees will take part in an office Secret Santa this year.

Secret Santa is an activity where members of a group are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift giver is a secret not to be revealed until after the gift is opened.

While half (48%) of Singaporean adults have taken part in Secret Santa at some point, only half this number (24%) will be doing so this year. One in three (35%) are not sure if they will take part while two fifths (41%) will opt out.

YouGov’s research shows that practical presents are best with more than half (57%) saying they are the ideal Secret Santa gifts.

More findings include:

• Personalised presents are in second place (20%), followed by something edible (11%) and something funny (7%).
• Women are more likely than men to gift something practical (63% vs. 52%), while men are more likely than women to give something personalised (23% vs. 17%).
• On average, Singaporeans budget SG$20 per Secret Santa gift.
• About half (55%) think spending SG$20 or less is appropriate, and a quarter (27%) are willing to budget between SG$21 to 50. The remaining 18% are ready to spend more than SG$50.

Secret Santa is only one facet of workplace festivities. Other popular office Christmas activities include having a Christmas meal (39%), putting up decorations (37%) and a Christmas party (33%). However, a quarter (27%) of Singaporeans will miss out, as their office does not partake in any Christmas activities.

Jake Gammon, Head of YouGov Omnibus in APAC commented: “Christmas is popular time for gifts, and the Western tradition of Secret Santa has found it’s foothold even in secular Singapore. For those struggling to find the perfect Secret Santa gift, the safest bet would be sticking to something practical.”