Key takeaways
- Under £10, resistance bands, a skipping rope, a protein shaker, a grip trainer and a massage ball are the fitness Secret Santa gifts people use most.
- Under £20, a foam roller, lifting straps, a quick-dry gym towel, a big water bottle or a training log book feel like a real upgrade.
- Match the gift to what they already do: lifters want grip and recovery kit, runners want hydration, beginners want simple tools.
- Never gift a body goal: no scales, diet books or weight jokes in a Secret Santa.
- Draw names online in under a minute with Next Day Gifts' free Secret Santa generator: one link for the whole team, couples kept apart.
The short answer
The best fitness Secret Santa gifts are small things a gym-goer uses every week. Under £10: resistance bands, a skipping rope, a protein shaker, a grip trainer or a massage ball. Under £20: a foam roller, lifting straps, a quick-dry gym towel, a big water bottle or a training log book.
Pick by what they already do. A lifter wants grip and recovery kit. A runner wants hydration and small comforts. A beginner wants simple tools that make starting easy. The tables below match each gift to the person, so you can choose in a minute and get back to your day.
Fitness Secret Santa gifts under £10
These are the gifts that punch above their price. Every one is light, easy to wrap and useful from the first session.
| Gift | Best for | Why it lands |
|---|---|---|
| Resistance bands set | Home trainers, beginners | Warm-ups, glute work and full workouts in one small pouch |
| Skipping rope | Cardio fans, boxers | Ten minutes of hard cardio anywhere, even in a hotel room |
| Protein shaker | Gym regulars | Everyone loses one eventually; a fresh one always gets used |
| Grip trainer | Climbers, lifters | Builds the grip that holds heavy pulls, at a desk or on the sofa |
| Massage ball | Anyone who trains hard | Rolls out tight feet, calves and shoulders in two minutes |
| Mini loop bands | Glute and leg-day fans | Tiny, cheap and the warm-up tool people reach for most |
| Sweatband or headband set | Runners, class-goers | Keeps sweat out of the eyes on the hardest intervals |
Fitness Secret Santa gifts under £20
A bigger budget buys kit that changes how training feels.
| Gift | Best for | Why it lands |
|---|---|---|
| Foam roller | Regular lifters, runners | Quick self-massage before and after training, used for years |
| Lifting straps | Experienced lifters | Let the back and legs work when grip gives out on heavy pulls |
| Quick-dry gym towel | Gym regulars | Light, packs small and dries before the next session |
| Large water bottle | Everyone | Makes drinking enough water easy all day; our water intake calculator shows how much |
| Training log book | Lifters chasing progress | Writing down weights and reps is how lifts keep going up |
| Wrist wraps | Pressers and lifters | Support the wrists on heavy bench and overhead work |
| Yoga strap or mat towel | Yoga and mobility fans | Helps deeper stretches and stops a mat getting slippery |
Want a bigger present for someone special? Our full fitness gifts guide covers adjustable dumbbells, massage guns and trackers.
Gifts for the gym-goer who has everything
Some people own every gadget going. Give them something they use up, or something that makes the routine nicer:
- Something to use up: a box of their favourite protein bars, electrolyte tablets or a bag of good coffee for the pre-workout cup.
- Something for recovery: bath salts, a sleep mask or a pair of thick recovery socks.
- Something for the bag: a shoe bag, a padlock with a number code or a small wash bag for the gym locker.
- Something to track progress: a log book with a note inside naming one goal for the new year.
Not everyone in the group trains
Mixed office or team Secret Santa? Half the names you could draw will never go near a gym. Safe picks for anyone: a good mug, a candle set, a notebook or a cosy pair of socks. Next Day Gifts has Secret Santa gifts under £10 and more under £20 for every type of person, ready to send.
How to run a gym, team or office Secret Santa
Running the Secret Santa for your gym class, sports team, run club or office? Skip the hat and the spreadsheet.
- Draw names online. Set up your gym or office draw on Next Day Gifts: it draws names in under a minute, with no sign-up, no app and no ads. We run Next Day Gifts.
- Share one link. Post it in the team WhatsApp, Slack or Teams, send it by email or put a QR code on the noticeboard. Groups of 3 to 500 people work.
- Set the budget and the date. £10 suits a class or team; £20 suits a smaller group of training partners. Draw now or on a date you pick.
- Keep couples apart. Training partners who are together never draw each other.
- Let wishlists do the work. Everyone can add real gifts inside the budget, and a six-tap gift quiz helps anyone who is stuck. Stuck on your person? Send them an anonymous question.
- Swap on the night or by post. Bring gifts to the last session before Christmas, or post them to a secret address for remote teams. Reminders keep everyone on time.
The draw is totally secret by default: not even the organiser sees who has whom, unless they switch that on before the draw, and then everyone's told. So the organiser plays too. Each group also gets its own 10% code, named after the group, on gifts at Next Day Gifts until 31 December. Running it at work? Running it at work? Next Day Gifts' office organiser has rules and ideas for colleagues.
The rules that keep a fitness Secret Santa kind
- Never gift a body goal. No scales, diet books or "time to lose a few pounds" jokes. Gift the activity, never a comment on someone's body.
- Stay inside the budget. A gift far over the limit makes everyone else's look small.
- Avoid sizes. Gloves, clothes and shoes are a guess. Pick one-size kit instead.
- Keep supplements simple. Only give a supplement you know they already take, and never anything with a health claim.
- Add a note. One line, such as "for your new deadlift record", turns a £5 gift into the one they remember.
The gift that keeps working in January
Kit is a great start. A plan is what turns it into results. If the Secret Santa has you thinking about your own training, your Lift Republic coach builds a plan around your body, your goal and your week, and checks in with you every week. See how online personal training works, or find your plan in a couple of minutes.