### [Secret Santa Questionnaire: The Questions to Ask (Free Printable + Online Form Template)](https://wpforms.com/secret-santa-questionnaire/)

**Published:** November 4, 2026
**Author:** Hamza Shahid

**Excerpt:** You've drawn a name for this year's Secret Santa, and it belongs to the coworker you mostly know by their coffee mug. Now you have a budget and a deadline, but no real idea what they'd like.

A short Secret Santa questionnaire fixes that before anyone heads to the store. Everyone answers a few questions about what they love and what they'd rather not get, so the person who drew their name shops with real answers.

Below you'll find 50 questions sorted by who's playing, plus a free printable PDF and an online version you can build in WPForms. The same gift exchange questionnaire works for an office, a classroom, or the whole family.

**Content:**

You’ve drawn a name for this year’s Secret Santa, and it belongs to the coworker you mostly know by their coffee mug. Now you have a budget and a deadline, but no real idea what they’d like.

A short Secret Santa questionnaire fixes that before anyone heads to the store. Everyone answers a few questions about what they love and what they’d rather not get, so the person who drew their name shops with real answers.

Below you’ll find 50 questions sorted by who’s playing, plus a free printable PDF and an online version you can build in WPForms. The same gift exchange questionnaire works for an office, a classroom, or the whole family.

[Build Your Secret Santa Form for Free 🙂](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpforms-lite/)

## What to Ask on a Secret Santa Questionnaire (and How to Collect the Answers)

A [2024 British Heart Foundation survey](https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2024/december/one-in-three-brits-admit-to-never-using-their-secret-santa-gifts) found that almost a third of Brits who’ve taken part in Secret Santa (32%) were given something they never used. A few good questions before anyone shops make that a lot less likely for your group.

- [What Every Secret Santa Questionnaire Should Include](#what-every-secret-santa-questionnaire-should-include)
- [Secret Santa Questions for Coworkers](#secret-santa-questions-for-coworkers)
- [Secret Santa Questions for Adults and Friends](#secret-santa-questions-for-adults-and-friends)
- [Secret Santa Questions for Kids and Classrooms](#secret-santa-questions-for-kids-and-classrooms)
- [Secret Santa Questions for Family Gift Exchanges](#secret-santa-questions-for-family-gift-exchanges)
- [Fun Secret Santa Questions to Ask](#fun-secret-santa-questions-to-ask)
- [Free Printable Secret Santa Questionnaire (PDF)](#free-printable-secret-santa-questionnaire-pdf)
- [How to Build an Online Secret Santa Form in WPForms](#how-to-build-an-online-secret-santa-form-in-wpforms)

### What Every Secret Santa Questionnaire Should Include

Every Secret Santa questionnaire needs the same core details, whatever kind of group you’re organizing.

- **Name:** The organizer needs to know whose answers are whose. For the online version, ask for an email address as well.
- **Budget and exchange date:** Print these at the top of the form instead of asking for them.
- **Favorites:** Snacks, drinks, colors, and hobbies give the giver an easy starting point.
- **Things to avoid:** A “please don’t buy me” line keeps gifts out of the junk drawer.
- **Allergies and dietary needs:** These matter for any food or scented gift.
- **Sizes:** Keep this one optional, and only ask in family or close-friend groups.
- **One wish:** Ask for a single thing they’d love, for the giver who wants a sure bet.

Keep the list short enough that people actually finish it, which usually means 8 to 12 questions for adults and 6 to 8 for kids. Mix a few quick picks, like coffee or tea, with one or two open questions where people can write freely.

Ask which store gift card someone would actually use instead of what they want for the holidays, since specific questions get far better answers.

### Secret Santa Questions for Coworkers

A Secret Santa questionnaire for coworkers should help someone pick a small gift for a colleague they might barely know. Keep it short and about the workday, and leave out sizes or anything personal you wouldn’t bring up in a team meeting.

The budget line matters even more at work, since a [Harris Poll survey for Express Employment Professionals](https://www.expresspros.com/newsroom/news-releases/news-releases/2025/12/behind-the-holiday-glow-56-percent-of-employees-feel-gift-giving-pressure-and-nearly-half-say-it-hurts-their-wallet) released in December 2025 found that 46% of job seekers feel pressured to spend a specific amount on gifts.

- How do you take your coffee, or are you more of a tea person?
- What’s your go-to desk snack?
- Sweet or salty?
- What’s one thing that would make your workday a little better?
- What’s always running out at your desk?
- Which coffee shop or store gift card would you actually use?
- What do you like to do on a free weekend?
- What are you into outside of work right now?
- What’s your favorite color?
- Do you prefer useful gifts or fun ones?
- Do you have any allergies or foods you avoid?
- Is there anything you’d rather not receive?

**Make It One Tap**

If you build this in WPForms, turn “coffee or tea” and “sweet or salty” into **Multiple Choice** fields and the last question into **Checkboxes**. Most answers then take a single tap, and both field types work in WPForms Lite.

### Secret Santa Questions for Adults and Friends

For a Secret Santa questionnaire for adults, whether that’s a friend group or a book club, you can relax the rules a little and lean toward the things people love but rarely buy for themselves.

- What’s something you’d love but would never buy for yourself?
- Which scents do you love, and are there any you can’t stand?
- What’s your drink of choice?
- What small luxury always makes your week?
- What are you reading, watching, or listening to lately?
- Who’s your favorite author, artist, or band?
- Do you prefer experiences or things you can keep?
- What’s your favorite local spot for food or coffee?
- Is there anything you need for your home or kitchen?
- Do you collect anything?
- What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
- Anything that’s a hard no for you?

If your group barely knows each other, borrow a couple of basics from the coworker list, like favorite color or go-to snack.

### Secret Santa Questions for Kids and Classrooms

Keep the kids’ version short and leave plenty of room to write. Ask about the things children get excited about, like characters, toys, and treats. For a classroom exchange, send the form home with a return date and let a grown-up fill in the allergy line.

- What’s your favorite color?
- Who’s your favorite cartoon character or superhero?
- What’s your favorite toy or game?
- Do you like to draw, build, read, or play outside?
- What’s your favorite candy or treat?
- What’s your favorite animal?
- What’s one thing on your wish list this year?
- Grown-ups, does your child have any allergies?

**Let Kids Pick a Picture**

For an online version, you can [add image choices](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-add-image-choices-to-fields/) to a **Multiple Choice** or **Checkboxes** field, and kids can tap a picture of art supplies, building sets, books, or sports gear instead of writing. Image choices work in WPForms Lite, and a parent should fill in the online form for younger children.

### Secret Santa Questions for Family Gift Exchanges

A family draw might pair a teenager with their grandmother, and neither one is likely to guess the other’s taste. It’s also the one group where asking for sizes and wish list links feels normal.

Run separate draws for kids and adults, and let anyone who pulls their own partner’s name draw again.

- What are three things you’d love to receive this year?
- What sizes should your Secret Santa know (shirt, sweater, shoes)?
- Do you have a wish list link you’d like to share?
- What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
- What’s something you always seem to run out of?
- What hobby have you picked up this year?
- What’s your favorite stocking stuffer?
- Is there something for your home you keep meaning to buy?
- Handmade, practical, or just for fun?
- What should your Secret Santa avoid?

**One Form for the Whole Family**

With [conditional logic](https://wpforms.com/features/conditional-logic/) in WPForms Basic and up, a single form can serve everyone. Add a “Who’s filling this out?” **Multiple Choice** field with Adult and Kid options, then show the matching set of questions for each answer.

### Fun Secret Santa Questions to Ask

A few lighthearted questions make the form more fun to fill in, and the answers come in handy later. They give givers material for clues and give everyone something to laugh about when the gifts get opened.

- What’s the most “you” holiday snack?
- Which holiday song could you happily never hear again?
- Cozy night in or big night out?
- What’s the best present you’ve ever given someone?
- What would you do with a surprise day off?
- What’s a small thing that instantly makes your day better?
- If your year had a theme song, what would it be?
- What’s a holiday tradition you secretly love?

Pick two or three of these rather than all eight to keep the questionnaire short.

### Free Printable Secret Santa Questionnaire (PDF)

If your exchange happens around the office kitchen or a classroom, paper is still the easiest option. This free printable Secret Santa questionnaire comes with four one-page versions, one each for coworkers, adults and friends, kids, and family.

Every page has lines for a name, the budget, and a return-by date at the top, plus room to write under each question, and it prints cleanly in black and white.

![Preview of the free printable Secret Santa questionnaire PDF, showing the coworkers, adults and friends, kids, and family pages side by side.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-printable-preview-1024x405.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-printable-preview - WPForms")

[Download the Free Printable (PDF) 🙂](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-printable.pdf)

The paper version runs smoothly if you set the budget and exchange date first, then hand out the sheets with a clear return date. Collect the finished questionnaires folded in half and drop them in a bowl.

Each person then draws one folded sheet, which gives them their recipient and that person’s answers in a single step. Anyone who draws their own sheet simply puts it back and draws again.

For remote or hybrid groups, an online form saves you from chasing paper around the office, and it only takes a few minutes to build in WPForms.

### How to Build an Online Secret Santa Form in WPForms

An online Secret Santa form collects every answer in one place and works on any phone. Everything happens in the [drag and drop form builder](https://wpforms.com/features/drag-drop-online-form-builder/), so you won’t need any code.

You can build the whole questionnaire with WPForms Lite, the free version of the plugin, and get every answer by email. WPForms Basic and up add stored entries, CSV exports, printing, and automatic routing that sends each person’s answers straight to their Secret Santa.

#### Start From the Secret Santa Signup Form Template

In your WordPress dashboard, go to **WPForms » Add New** and give your form a name. Then type Secret Santa into the template search box.

![WPForms template gallery searched for Secret Santa, with the Secret Santa Signup Form template card in the results.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-template-search-1024x492.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-template-search - WPForms")

Go ahead and click **Use Template** on the [Secret Santa Signup Form template](https://wpforms.com/templates/secret-santa-signup-form-template/). It’s free in WPForms Lite and starts you off with **Name**, **Email**, and a box for gift requests or hints.

If you’re mailing gifts to a remote group, the [Gift Exchange Signup Form template](https://wpforms.com/templates/gift-exchange-signup-form-template/) is worth a look on WPForms Basic and up. It adds a mailing address, clothing and shoe sizes, allergies, and a budget range.

#### Add Your Questionnaire Questions

Now add the questions you picked from the lists above. Drag fields from the panel on the left onto the form, then click any field to change its label.

Use **Multiple Choice** for quick picks like coffee or tea, **Checkboxes** for the things people don’t want, and **Single Line Text** or **Paragraph Text** for open answers.

![WPForms form builder showing the Secret Santa Questionnaire with the Your Name dropdown, Email, Coffee or tea, Favorite snack or treat, and Please don't buy me fields on the canvas.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-builder-fields-1024x831.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-builder-fields - WPForms")

The most useful field here is a **Dropdown** labeled **Your Name**, with everyone in the exchange listed as a choice. It does the job of the template’s **Name** field, so you can delete that one, and it gives conditional logic an exact name to match later.

![Field Options for the Your Name dropdown, listing each participant's name as a separate choice.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-your-name-choices-1024x669.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-your-name-choices - WPForms")

Turn on **Required** for **Your Name** and the other must-answer questions, like allergies and the hard-no question. Then open the dropdown’s **Advanced** tab and add **Placeholder Text** such as “Select your name”, so nobody gets filed under the first name on the list by mistake.

#### Send Every Answer to Your Inbox

Next, open **Settings » Notifications** in the form builder. Every form comes with a default notification that uses the `{all_fields}` smart tag, so each email already includes all of the answers.

Put the organizer’s email address in **Send To Email Address**, then click **Save**.

![Builder Settings » Notifications panel with the organizer's email address in Send To Email Address and the {all_fields} smart tag in Email Message.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-organizer-notification-1024x711.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-organizer-notification - WPForms")

WPForms Lite includes one notification per form, and for a small group that’s all you need. These [instant email notifications](https://wpforms.com/features/instant-notifications/) arrive as soon as someone submits, so you can forward each set of answers to whoever drew that person’s name.

#### Share the Questionnaire With Your Group

When the form’s ready, click **Embed** in the builder and choose an existing page or create a new one. Publish the page and share its link in your team chat or family group, with the return-by date written just above the form.

![The Secret Santa Questionnaire as participants see it, with the Your Name dropdown and the first few questions.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-front-end-form-1024x831.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-front-end-form - WPForms")

#### Email Each Secret Santa Their Person’s Answers

With WPForms Basic or higher, you can skip the forwarding and send each set of answers straight to the right giver. Draw names first, then go back to **Settings » Notifications** and click **Add New Notification** once for each participant.

Name each notification after the person it covers, like Secret Santa for Priya, and put their Secret Santa’s email address in **Send To Email Address**. Then toggle on **Enable Conditional Logic** and set the rule to send this notification if **Your Name** is Priya.

![A second notification named Secret Santa for Priya, with conditional logic enabled to send only when Your Name is Priya and her Secret Santa's email address in Send To Email Address.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-giver-routing-1024x830.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-giver-routing - WPForms")

Repeat that for everyone in the exchange. If you haven’t built a rule like this before, our guide shows how to [set up conditional notifications](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-create-conditional-form-notifications-in-wpforms/) step by step. Notification settings stay in your WordPress dashboard and never appear on the form, so nobody can work out who drew whom.

For answers that arrived before the draw, open the entry under **WPForms » Entries** and click **Resend Notifications** in the **Actions** box to [resend the notification](https://wpforms.com/docs/resending-form-notification-emails/) through your new rules.

![Entry details for one participant's questionnaire answers, with the Actions box showing Print and Resend Notifications.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-resend-notifications-1024x790.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-resend-notifications - WPForms")

**Which Plan You Need**

Multiple notifications and conditional logic are included in WPForms Basic and every plan above it.

#### Keep Every Answer in One Place

Paid plans also store every response, and you’ll find them all in one list when you go to **WPForms » Entries** and choose your questionnaire.

The built-in [entry management](https://wpforms.com/features/entry-management/) tools let you search, star, and mark entries as read. Use **Export All** to [export your entries to CSV](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-export-form-entries-to-csv-in-wpforms/) for a spreadsheet, or [print any entry](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-print-form-entries/) to hand a giver their person’s answers on paper.

![WPForms Entries list for the Secret Santa Questionnaire showing all eight participants' submitted answers.](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/secret-santa-questionnaire-entries-list-1024x733.png "secret-santa-questionnaire-entries-list - WPForms")

### FAQs About Secret Santa Questionnaires

Here are quick answers to the questions that come up most when you run a Secret Santa form or hand out a paper gift exchange questionnaire.

#### How many questions should a Secret Santa questionnaire have?

Aim for 8 to 12 questions for adults and coworkers, and 6 to 8 for kids. That’s enough to give the giver real ideas without turning the form into homework.

#### When should you send out a Secret Santa questionnaire?

Send it as soon as the budget and exchange date are set. Give people about a week to reply, which still leaves givers plenty of time to shop before the exchange.

#### What are some good Secret Santa clues?

Use the fun answers from the questionnaire as clue material, and match the difficulty to how well you know each other, with easy hints for a new coworker and tougher ones for a close friend.

A rhyme about their favorite snack, a lyric from their theme song answer, or a riddle about a hobby they mentioned all work well.

#### Can WPForms draw names for Secret Santa?

WPForms doesn’t draw names or assign pairs, so pull names from a hat or use the folded questionnaire trick from the printable section.

With WPForms Basic or higher, conditional notifications then send each giver their person’s answers automatically.

#### What’s the difference between a Secret Santa wish list and a questionnaire?

A wish list names exact gifts, which is quick but takes away the surprise. A questionnaire collects someone’s tastes so the giver can choose, and a one-wish question gives you a bit of both.

#### Can I make a Secret Santa form for free?

You can, with WPForms Lite. It gives you the Secret Santa Signup Form template, every field in this guide, and one email notification per form.

You’ll need WPForms Basic or higher for stored entries with CSV export and for per-giver routing. If you start on Lite, turn on [Lite Connect](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-use-lite-connect-for-wpforms/) and WPForms backs up each submission, then restores them as regular entries if you upgrade.

#### Who should see the questionnaire answers?

Each person’s answers should go to their giver and the organizer, and nobody else. Posting the full sheet in a group chat gives away who drew whom and shares more than people signed up for.

Conditional notifications keep things private by sending each set of answers to a single giver.

### Next, Plan the Rest of Your Holiday Party

Set up an [RSVP form for your holiday party](https://wpforms.com/how-to-create-an-rsvp-form-in-wordpress/) to get a headcount, and if your business closes over the break, grab an [office closed for the holidays message](https://wpforms.com/best-office-closed-for-holiday-message-templates/) for your website and email autoresponder.

For more ideas you can borrow, browse these [questionnaire examples](https://wpforms.com/questionnaire-examples-templates-wordpress/) that work well beyond Secret Santa.

[Start Your Secret Santa Form Today 🙂](https://wpforms.com/pricing)

Ready to build your form? Get started today with the easiest WordPress form builder plugin. WPForms Pro includes lots of free templates and offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.

If this article helped you out, please follow us on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/wpforms) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/easywpforms) for more free WordPress tutorials and guides.

**Categories:** Marketing

**Tags:** gift exchange questionnaire, secret santa form, secret santa questionnaire, wpforms pro

---