Spooky season has now been and gone, so it’s officially Christmas time!
I don’t care if it’s early, start eating mince pies for breakfast and thinking about gifts.
For a lot of us, money’s tight this year. Costs keep going up and wages keep staying the same, so many of us are looking to economise in one way or another.
Even if you’re not doing too bad financially, others are, and finding a way to sort out gifts without at least one person feeling bad can be tough.
Thankfully, I might just have the answer. This is a secret santa I invented for my university literature society and have used a few times over the years with different friend groups. Here’s the run-down:
- Get a group together of between 4 and 10 people- any more and it’s carnage!
- Give everyone a piece of A5 paper to write on.
- Each person writes their name and the names of 3 classic books/ authors.
- The names go in a hat or bucket or whatever for everyone to pick from. If someone picks themselves they have to pick again.
- There’s a £5 or £10 limit, depending on your preference and to be agreed by everyone who’s taking part beforehand.
- Books can be secondhand from charity shops, car boots or even online secondhand booksellers, as long as they’re within the price limit.
- Meet up again at an agreed time for a gift exchange!
This is a fun way to set limits and get some cool editions of classic books. Everyone has 3 to choose from, and as long as you’re not too obscure it should be easy enough.
Whether you’re in a book club, work somewhere with loads of readers or just have a bunch of literary friends, this is a simple, fun way to make gift giving easier.
Charity shops and secondhand stores sometimes have some cute copies that’ll make someone smile, and this is a really easy way to give a gift that book lovers will actually use.
Enjoy!
