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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.
Snacks
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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.
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Mini Books
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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.
Stationery
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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.