A Very Cryptic Secret Santa


An extra dose of magic can make the holiday season just a little bit more special. When it comes to Imgur Secret Santa, there is no shortage of magic, generosity, and good vibes — with tens of thousands of gifts being sent across the globe, 2020’s exchange is wrapping up; as our amazing backup gifters go above and beyond to make sure everyone gets a gift. If you’d like to catch up on some of our favorite gifts from this year’s exchange, check out our blog here.

This year, one Imgurian went the extra mile and taken the ‘secret’ of Secret Santa to the next level! Across five cryptic challenges, @ImYourSecretSanta1 put unsuspecting recipient @DoritoIncognito through their paces in a Choose Your Own Adventure x Secret Santa extravaganza! 

It started with an innocent-looking manilla envelope, and a simple decision: Choice 1, or Choice 2. DoritoIncognito did what any sane person would do, and flipped a coin for it. Inside their choice was $100 in cold hard cash, and instructions to await a comment for further instructions. 

With each round, there was another $100 up for grabs if the correct choice was made. The game was afoot!



Self-confessed ‘The Office’ newbie DoritoIncognito dove into the ‘Who’s Hot’ debate from Season 5, and decided to side with the logic of Michael Scott. With the following rounds, our mysterious Santa did not reveal if the correct choice had been made until the very end.

The next three challenges revolved around choice, skill, and time management. DoritoIncognito was challenged with completing a seriously complex jigsaw puzzle in an allotted time, the impossible choice between Mexican cuisine or pizza, and whether to rely on a pen and paper or a compass to escape a maze.



After a wild adventure that kept many of us checking back in for updates, it was time for the final prize, a beautifully embroidered Dick Butt, as well as, importantly, the results of each round. Overall, DoritoIncognito performed admirably, netting an impressive $200 from the choice and challenge sections, plus the $100 from the first round.


But wait, there’s more! Gifter-extraordinaire ImYourSecretSanta1 provided a round-up post of this year’s escapades, and in that post teased at a mindblowing gift-ception — a gift within a gift! 

Hidden inside the frame of the beautiful dickbutt needlepoint was a note, and a bonus $200, proving there were no real wrong answers all along.


Just one example of the fantastic lengths Imgurians will go to lift each other up, and the boundless creativity they find during Secret Santa, and every other day. We applaud @ImYourSecretSanta1 for this ingenious gift and thank @DoritoIncognito for taking part and sharing their adventure. You can follow the entire experience starting here.