--- title: These Are the Most Popular Secret Santa Gifts in Every State description: From Hawaiian shirts to Beatles pajamas canonical: https://time.com/4158461/christmas-2015-secret-santa-gifts/ author: Julie Shapiro article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-22T14:30:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:28:01.618Z og:title: These Are the Most Popular Secret Santa Gifts in Every State og:description: From Hawaiian shirts to Beatles pajamas og:url: https://time.com/4158461/christmas-2015-secret-santa-gifts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Are the Most Popular Secret Santa Gifts in Every State twitter:description: From Hawaiian shirts to Beatles pajamas twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Are the Most Popular Secret Santa Gifts in Every State > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=4b64f8ef-188f-42cc-ad44-e9b8a60f2d55&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=4b64f8ef-188f-42cc-ad44-e9b8a60f2d55&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=4b64f8ef-188f-42cc-ad44-e9b8a60f2d55&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=4b64f8ef-188f-42cc-ad44-e9b8a60f2d55&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Julie Shapiro](https://time.com/author/julie-shapiro/)  ## Julie Shapiro Dec 22, 2015 2:30 PM UTC  by [Julie Shapiro](https://time.com/author/julie-shapiro/)  ## Julie Shapiro Dec 22, 2015 2:30 PM UTC Some Secret Santa gifts are nice and some are naughty—but others are just bizarre. To that third category, add light-up electric ties and bowls made out of buttons, which are apparently the most uniquely popular Secret Santa gifts in Maryland and South Dakota, respectively. That’s according to Google, which provided TIME with the most disproportionately searched Secret Santa gift in each state. They range from the mundane (scented candles in Alaska, personalized ornaments in Michigan) to the truly unusual (Montana is still into [Tamagotchi](http://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A166164011%2Cp%5Flbr%5Fcharacters%5Fbrowse-bin%3ATamagotchi), while in Massachusetts people are giving one another “angry cat gifts”). And then there are some gifts that seem to particularly match their state: the selfie stick in image-obsessed California, the makeup bouquet in posh Connecticut and the Adidas gym bag in health-conscious Vermont. See below for the full list: **Methodology** Google determined the most uniquely searched Secret Santa gift in each state based on U.S. searches from December 2013, 2014 and 2015\. Google tracked results based on people who searched for “Secret Santa” and “gift” within the same “mini session,” which is a short series of Google searches. _Illustrations Jason Polan_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4158461/christmas-2015-secret-santa-gifts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4158461/christmas-2015-secret-santa-gifts/"},"headline":"These Are the Most Popular Secret Santa Gifts in Every State","datePublished":"2015-12-22T14:30:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:28:01.618Z","description":"From Hawaiian shirts to Beatles pajamas","url":"https://time.com/4158461/christmas-2015-secret-santa-gifts/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet","Holidays","gifts","christmas gifts"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julie Shapiro","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/julie-shapiro/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4158461/christmas-2015-secret-santa-gifts/","name":"These Are the Most Popular Secret Santa Gifts in Every State"}}]}] ```