Secret Santa gift ideas for gamers and anime fans under £15 / $20 / €17

Secret Santa is a small-budget, high-pressure gift. You’ve drawn the name of someone from work or the group chat, you know they “like games” or “watch anime”, and you’ve got roughly £15 / $20 / €17 to make it land. Prices vary by country, retailer and exchange rate, so treat that as a ballpark rather than a hard figure.

Disclosure up front: this guide links to Nightfandom on Etsy, a small fan-merch shop run by the same person as Binge Bulletin, and to What2Buy, a UK guide site that earns from some retailer links. We make money if you buy from either. We’ve linked to the shop generally rather than to specific items, because stock changes – check the shop for what’s available now and what it costs in your currency. Full disclosure.

Stickers: the safest small win

Stickers are the perfect Secret Santa gift for a gamer or anime fan: cheap enough to bundle a few, and they end up on laptops, controller cases, water bottles and Switch docks. Pick a theme they’ll recognise – a favourite series, a game they won’t stop talking about, or just a cute cat in a hoodie – rather than something generic. Small makers on Etsy, including Nightfandom, are a good place to look for fan-made designs you won’t find in a supermarket.

Mugs: for the colleague who’s always got a brew

A mug is a classic for a reason – it gets used every day. A fandom or gaming design makes it personal without being embarrassing at an office swap. Check the listing for size, whether it’s dishwasher- and microwave-safe, and the dispatch time, because mugs are heavier to ship.

Posters and prints: big impact, small price

An art print or poster can transform someone’s gaming corner for very little. A few tips:

• Check the size (A4, A3, or inches in the US) and whether a frame is included – usually it isn’t.
• Posters ship in tubes, so they can take longer; order early.
• Pair it with a cheap frame if your budget allows, and it’ll look like a much bigger gift.

Browse the Nightfandom shop to see which designs and formats are listed right now, and sort by price to see what fits your budget.

Other ideas that work

• Under £10: What2Buy’s Secret Santa gifts under £10 has plenty of small ideas.
• For gamers: gifts for gamers under £20 covers console-agnostic picks.
• For teens in a family swap: stocking fillers for teenage boys.

What2Buy’s picks and prices are for UK shoppers – if you’re elsewhere, use them for ideas and buy locally.

Order early

Etsy sellers are often small, one- or two-person shops, and international post slows down a lot in December. Check each listing’s dispatch time and the delivery estimate to your country before you order – and if the swap is in early December, order in November.

For bigger budgets, see our Christmas gift guide for gamers, and for anime fans specifically, our budget anime fan gifts.