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If you’re on the lookout for a selection of reasonably priced gift ideas for your office Secret Santa, then I’ve got some good news for you. There’s a ton of fantastic things that cyclists love to receive…but can’t justify buying for themselves. Oh, and they all come at a great range of affordable price points. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites.
It’s that time of year again, isn’t it? Dodging Thelma from Accounts with her mistletoe and that lustful glint in her eye, wrestling with the knotted-up ball of wire that used to be a long string of fairy lights, eating your own body weight in Christmas candy….and the dreaded Office Secret Santa. I feel your pain. But luckily, you’ve come to the right place.
So, let me guess, you’ve drawn John or Jane’s name from the festive red floppy stocking cap, and you need to buy him or her a gift? You don’t really know John/Jane, but you do know that they like cycling. Well, you’re in luck because bike riders are easy to buy Secret Santa gifts for!
I’ve done some research into the best gifts you can buy at different price points. These are all things that cyclists love and will find very useful. Shall we take a look?
Secret Santa Gifts for cyclists: | |||
 
CO2 Tire inflator |  
Cycling medpack Popular |  
Bike lights combo |  
Bike multitool |
Stocking Stuffers For Bike Riders
Okay, let’s take a look at some of the great Secret Santa gifts for bicyclists. One of my biggest annoyances about Secret Santa gifts is that folk often get bought plastic junk that doesn’t look good and has no use at all (think craaazee novelty neckties – bleurgh!) The world does NOT need more tat like that. The thing about buying small inexpensive gifts for cyclists though is that there are a lot to choose from, that are at great prices AND are very useful. I’ll be taking you through my favorites now. Unfortunately, I won’t be highlighting any novelty cycling neckwear. Apologies.
Secret Santa gifts for cyclists ($)
Cyclists are tough on their bikes and their gear and that means that their gear tends to wear out quickly. Tricky for them but a good opportunity for us to buy them new inexpensive gifts. One of my favorites is a specialist cycling medpack – these are available in two different sizes. One is a grab-and-go 1st aid kit for cyclists. It’s very small and light and can easily be stowed in their jersey or shorts pocket. Whilst it’s small, it’s stuffed full of kit that they’ll need to stick themselves (or someone else) back together in the event of an accident. There’s also a larger cycling medpack kit available, which I particularly like as it can be secured to the bike for when it’s needed (and they won’t forget to take it with them on a bike ride).
Bike lights are a common gift to buy for cyclists and are always well received. My recommendation is to buy a set of front and rear bike lights (front light: white; rear light: red) that can be clipped on to the cyclist or their backpack. If they’re a keen cyclist then they’ll probably already have a set of lights to fit on their bike. However they’re less likely to have lights to fit onto themselves and these are particularly useful as they provide illumination that is higher up than the bike, and also moves around more, making the cyclist easier to see.
The more miles a cyclist puts in on their bikes the more chance there is that they’ll suffer some mechanical mishap that needs fixing. It could be a puncture or it could be a brake that needs adjusting. When that happens they need a couple of things. Sadly, many riders (myself included!) will often not have either and end up having to trudge back home pushing their broken bike. What are the two things they need? A pump to inflate their tire and a small tool to carry out repairs. My favorite type of pump for on-the-road use is a CO2 tire inflator. This uses compressed gas cylinders (easily available to buy) and can inflate a tire in under 60 seconds. Much easier than doing this by hand with an old skool bike pump.
The best bike tool for a cyclist to carry with them is a small bike multitool. These are small and light and come with a stack of fold-out tools to allow the cyclist to complete a wide range of repairs easily.
Secret Santa gifts for cyclists ($$$)
If you’ve got a little extra budget to play with, then it opens up some really exciting options for Secret Santa gifts. One simple gift is a new bike water bottle. Now, all cyclists will probably have multiple water bottles but here’s the thing: I’m willing to bet that every single one will be moldy and muddy and a health-hazard. They need to throw them all out and get a shiny new one, but it’s always difficult to justify buying one for yourself. That’s where you come to the rescue – grab them a new bike bottle. Get a great one like this that is large volume and insulated, so it keeps their drink chilled for the whole of their ride.
Cyclists obviously love cycling but what they don’t necessarily love is cleaning their bike afterwards. You can make it easy for them though by getting them a bike cleaning kit to keep their steed in top sparkly condition ready for the next outing.
On that note, it’s important to make sure that their bike is still THERE for the next bike ride. Sadly bike theft is all too common these days and cyclists need to protect their pride and joy. Whilst the best place to keep a bike is safely inside the home or in a garage, many cyclists don’t have that luxury. Even if they do, they may have to leave their bike outside the office, or at the grocery store, or next time they go to the pub. A good quality bike lock is the answer – making sure that opportunistic thieves will look elsewhere.
Lastly, here’s a secret about cyclists – they love stats. I’m not talking about their waistline, shoe size or the National Deficit, what I mean is they love to know how far they’ve cycled and how fast they went. To do this they need a bike computer on their handlebars giving them second by second tacking information (and bragging evidence for their next trip to the pub).
Alternatives to Secret Santa at work?
Whilst most folk these days have heard of Secret Santa, you may not be aware that there are lots of variations of this fun Yuletide activity. Some, like Secret Santa, get you to give a gift to a certain amount of money that you think a specific recipient will appreciate. Others, such as White Elephant Gift Exchange, are more about giving gag gifts, rather than something that will actually be useful. There are even some games where you don’t know who the recipient of your gift will be.
If you want to go deep on the many, many different variations of Secret Santa throughout the world (and throughout the year), then check out this article on Wikipedia.
What is an Amigo Secreto?
Amigo Secreto is a game played in South America that is similar to Secret Santa. In other parts of the world, such as Spain, it is called Invisible Friend. As with Secret Santa, each person playing draws a name out of the hat and keeps this secret. They then buy a small gift for that person up to a pre-agreed amount of money. On a given date, each person anonymously puts their gift into a joint pile and people will then draw out their gift and try to guess who it’s from. The rules might be slightly different, but each of the gifts below will still work for someone who loves cycling.
Yankee Swap vs White Elephant?
A White Elephant exchange is all about buying a funny gift for someone, while a Yankee Swap is basically the same process of exchanging presents…but with more useful gifts. For both, each person brings along a gift and everyone draws out a number. The first person chooses the first wrapped present, the second person selects the second one, etc. But, this is where it gets interesting. The second person can steal the gift from the first person and so on. Great fun!
Tasteful white elephant gift ideas
Funny gifts are always good for a laugh, however, what I like doing is bringing a nice item (something that people actually want) and wrapping it up to look like something totally useless.
Let me explain…
There are some great parody boxes that you can buy, like this one. Select a useful gift, maybe one of the cycling ideas below, and pop it in the box. When the recipient opens it they will undoubtedly be shocked at the gift you’ve apparently bought them (and give everyone a good giggle). It’s only when they open the box up and see what’s inside that they realize it’s actually a great gift.
It’s easy to re-use, so the gift recipient can play the same prank on someone else next year.
What is a Pollyanna gift?
A Pollyanna gift exchange is very similar to Secret Santa and is a term that is used mainly in the Pennsylvania area. Wrapped gifts to a certain budget limit are brought to the exchange. If you know who you’re buying your gift for, then it makes it much easier to pick something that you know they’ll like. If you don’t, then you would be best choosing something that is generally liked by most people – candy is always a winner!
Gender Neutral Secret Santa gifts
If you’re looking for a non-binary Secret Santa gift for a cyclist, then you’ve come to the right place! Many of the gift suggestions below are perfect for men and women. Have a look through them all and hopefully one will be just right for your gift recipient.
Christmas Gift Ideas For Bicycle Enthusiasts
Everyone loves a bit of Secret Santa, don’t they…? Don’t they…?
Ok, so I admit it can be a little tricky to choose the right gift at the right price for someone that you don’t really know. But, if you know what one of their hobbies or passions is, then it makes it one heck of a lot easier. And, let’s face it, Christmas is a busy enough time of the year as it is, without adding extra stress.
I hope my research into the best cycling gifts at various price points is useful for you? These are all great gifts that any keen cyclist will absolutely love to receive.
Happy Christmas!
