Things to Put in Coffee Mugs for Secret Santa

Secret Santa exchanges allow everyone who participates to receive a gift during the holiday season. If you're involved with a secret Santa exchange, whether within your family or in your workplace, you may be stumped as to what to get. Coffee mugs come in handy as both a gift and a holding container for extra items. Choose what you put into the mug based on your recipient's tastes.

You can fill coffee mugs with various snacks. Candy, chocolates or biscotti are popular choices, but not everyone enjoys sweets. If you know that a person enjoys more savory foods, you might want to include gourmet nuts, or cheese and crackers, in his mug. Also, don't ignore the obvious: Coffee can make a nice filler for coffee mugs. Look for a nice coffee blend or some beans, and possibly include stirring sticks and flavor enhancers such as creamers and sugar packets.

While traditionally sized books wouldn't fit in a coffee mug, many bookstores sell smaller-sized books that can make nice gifts. These books often sit near the register of a bookstore and cover a wide variety of topics, from the history of shoes to love and friendship. For an extra step, you could put in a few small trinkets related to the book you choose like a shoe key chain to go with the shoe book. You can also find mini book kits that include things like what you need to create a mini zen garden, or a mini tarot card set that includes a mini instructional book on giving tarot card readings.

Many people use coffee mugs as makeshift pen and pencil holders, so try filling a mug with similar stationery gifts. Buy a small, personalized note pad or engraved pen set to put in the mug. You could also look into more artistic accessories if your gift recipient enjoys drawing. For writers, find a small notebook or journal that will fit. You also might want to include a miniature stapler, thumbtacks, sticky notes or binder clips.