The annual nightmare is always the same. It begins on a dark night -- you're at a get-together with all your friends on November 30. The topic of Christmas comes up and everyone is excitedly talking about it. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carrey is blaring on the speakers when suddenly ... it happens. You hear one of your friends squeal with joy then yell "Yes! We all have to do a secret Santa exchange!" Your heart drops. You're the complete worst when it comes to giving gifts. No one liked the homemade fruit cakes you gave out last year or the DIY sweaters you made everyone the year before. Sure, you accidentally put salt instead of sugar when you baked the fruit cakes and passed off the sweaters as scarves when someone asked, but they're your friends. They don't care about that stuff, right? Well, yeah that's true, but you don't want to be the only one with an awful gift at the secret Santa exchange either. So,this is your declassified secret Santa gift survival guide-on a budget! These Christmas care package presents all start at the best "buy more, spend less" stores: the Dollar Tree, Michael's, Party City, and Walmart.

For the Friend Who: Loves the coziness of Christmas (Santa emoji inserted here)

This friend records all the claymation Christmas movies and binge watches them all while wrapped in a blanket despite the 80-degree Miami weather. Your friend is a hot chocoholic and falls asleep to the sounds of Frank Sinatra's Christmas album. They have decorated their room in tons of Christmas lights and spent $30 on a tree to go with. The perfect gift for this Xmas ambience enthusiast includes:

1. A candle.

These will make any room shine with a low, golden dim light; your friend will love this stuff! Not to mention these candles come in three different holiday flavors: peppermint (the white one), sugar cookie (the yellowish one), and cinnamon spice (the one that looks like cinnamon spice).

The Dollar Tree: $1 (each)

2. A mug.

Trust me, all your friend wants to do is sit back on the couch drinking hot chocolate while feeling the heat coming from their Christmas-y mug onto their cold AF hands (it's not actually cold, but they turned up AC to make it seem like it is). You can go the "only use once a year" route and pick a cute Santa or a snowman, or you can choose the "this mug is bigger than my face" route too (the red and white mugs hold 20 oz). But hey, both are great "tbh."

The Dollar Tree: $1 (each)

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3. Ha-ha-ha hot chocolate.

Nothing is better than the feeling of scorching chocolate in liquid form running down your throat, I always say. Plus, watching the hot chocolate scene in the "Polar Express" is so much better when you can sing and drink along. P.S. tell them to prepare it with milk. This is 2015, water and chocolate powder is a thing of the past and frankly, it's just gross.

The Dollar Tree: $1

4. Fuzzy socks.

Literally everyone loves fuzzy socks, kind of how everyone loves Christmas. The best part about these besides the one size fits all size, the beautiful colors, the warm feeling against your toes, and grip circles at the bottom is ... well, I guess I've said it all. Considering it's Christmas I would choose the Santa looking ones (red and white for a cozy night).

The Dollar Tree: $1 (each)

5. A Santa hat.

Because after pigging out on hot chocolate, kettle corn, and candy canes it's inevitable to have a holly jolly food baby. Your friend will look like the big guy himself! Why not top it off with a festive red hat to complete the look?

The Dollar Tree: $1

6. Last but not least, a mini Christmas tree to set the merry mood.

It's only right that this Christmas junky have a small one of their own to decorate just the way they want. Sorry, mom, this tree "ornament I made when I was 3-10 free."

Michael's: $2.99

TIP: After you pack everything up into the bin, tie a sparkly ribbon around the handles and top it off with a cute bow to result with a "bomb AF" Christmas Ambiance Kit.

Total Spent: $11.00

Maybe a little more with tax, but hey, you're winning the Christmas shopping game.

For the friend who: Is a phone-obsessed freak (no offense)

This friend has an iPhone charger in their room and in their car. They never let you use the aux cord and they have a good 25 different cases for their phone. On class trips, they had three fully charged power sticks and didn't let anyone use them "just in case they run out of battery." They get the newest edition of every phone when it comes out and they each had more than my 16 GB plan. This gift includes:

1. A selfie stick.

Your phone-obsessed friend is definitely the type who can't resist a good selfie. Their only problem comes when they realize not everyone at the secret Santa gift exchange party fits in the small screen of their rose gold iPhone 6s. This will help ease the pain of only getting three-quarters of the guests in a holiday selfie. You can choose between a festive red selfie stick from the dollar store or a sleek black one that comes with a button as opposed to having to set the timer from Michael's.

The Dollar Tree: $1 (top)

OR

Michael's: $4.99 (bottom)

2. A really freaking cute speaker.

This small device will help blast the sounds of a really well-made, skiing goPro video from your friend's phone that they made on the way back from North Carolina, Aspen, Vail, or all of the above. The red and white option will help keep the frosty holiday spirit alive!

The Dollar Tree: $1

3. Headphones.

Your friend will thank you endlessly for this small gift that will help them sound out the questions of old family members they've only ever met once before. Let them drift away into their own little world filled with snowflakes and endless data. This is a good buy.

The Dollar Tree: $1

4. A phone case.

A silver sharpie could totally transform this simple case into a customized one-of-a-kind. Maybe deck it out with their initial or a festive snowman. If you can't draw then ask someone who can! If you don't know anyone, then leave it. It's always good to have a back up. (greennnn and reeddddd, woo!)

The Dollar Tree: $1

5. A USB charging cord.

Because these give life to the one thing your life depends on.

The Dollar Tree: $1

For the friend who: Loves to have fun

This is the friend who loves to have a good time and never passes up on the opportunity to own the night.They are basically the epitome of the "Last Friday Night" video by Katy Perry, to say the least. They love, love, love, beer, but the sound of a "wine night" also get's them all jittery with happiness (They're down for anything). They love being festive and showing off holiday spirit at a crazy and rowdy Christmas parties or a get together with their closest friends. Most of all, they have a really great sense of humor. This gift includes (don't forget the bin):

1. A sippy cup.

No matter what anyone says, these are the fu***** best. Not only can you show off some holiday cheer, but you never lose track of your drink when you're at a party (safety first!). Also, it's perfect for drinking up some home made hangover cure the next morning. As the kids say, "RIP me." You can choose the cup design or the really cute on-the-go wine design. Both are great.

Party City: $2.99 for the cup, $3.99 for the wine cup

2. SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOT (glasses).

To continue on the Christmas spirit one must stay warm. What better than to have one or two shots, I always say (just kidding). But seriously, these are sassy and adorable, and are much better than a boring ol' clear shot glasses.

Party City: $1 (each)

Seriously, so gr8

3. A beer can sleeve.

Because everything must express Christmas cheer. And these are like, really funny.

Party City: $2.99

4. Advil.

OK, this is no joke. For when your friend is regretting all of their actions from a couple of hours before, Advil is the way to go. Partying is tough work nowadays! Give the gift of a pain free, post-lit night. They'll thank you for it.

The Dollar Tree: $1.99

6. Sparkling Apple Cider.

Throw in one or two of these to bring the look of the present together. If you want to replace it with an actual bottle of wine that's cool too.

The Dollar Tree: $2-$4 (depends on the store)

7. A decorative wine sleeve thing.

You can wrap the cute apple cider with this Santa sleeve. Also, it looks kind of classy, I think.

Party City: $1.99

Tip: Put all the hangover helpers one one side so they don't think you just threw in a bunch of random things. Sunglasses, crackers, and Advil -- they'll understand.

For the friend who: Hates Christmas

So basically, your friend hates puppies too, right? Well, this would be a hard person to shop for -- if you hadn't stumbled upon this guide, that is! This friend's favorite color in the whole world is black: the color of darkness. They definitely live for Halloween but cringe at the site of a mall Santa. When you go to their house their parents put out the pictures of them when they were little sitting on Santa's lap ... crying. Aw well, to each their own. This gift includes:

1. A Bah Humbug Santa hat.

You don't want your friend to feel completely left out at your secret Santa party. Everyone will be wearing reindeer antlers, Santa hats, elf hats, the works. If one person doesn't wear hat then it'll throw the whole party off balance! We don't want that. Buy the hat.

Party City: $2.99

2. A black mug.

Because even though we can look past the fact that your friend doesn't like Christmas, not liking hot chocolate during winter is not human. So give this gift your friend, and they'll feel warm and cozy while watching Santa exposés on YouTube, because that is the type of thing that makes them happy.

The Dollar Tree: $1

3. Coal. Not the real kind.

The edible kind! These coal chocolates not only symbolize their permanent spot on Santa's naughty list, but they're pretty good. And they're funny so that's good too.

The Dollar Tree: $1

4. Black candy canes.

A great holiday tradition, customized just for them! Black is obviously the color of their soul, and it wouldn't be much of a secret Santa party without candy canes. So while everyone's tongues are turning a bright shade of red, theirs will be black, but I doubt they'll have a problem with that. (These are kind of pricey, but they're a great anti-Christmas gag, and in every box are 25!) P.S. I would take them out of the box and kind of disperse them in the bag, because "candy sticks" distracts from the fact they're supposed to be black "candy canes." #TRU

Party City: $6.99

5. Black Christmas decorations.

So your friend hates Christmas, but no one hates tinsel or garlands. They'll love spreading their anti-Christmas spirit by hanging these up in their room. Nothing says "Merry Christmas!" like all black everything!

Party City. Chain link: $2.99. Thick garland: $3.99. Black tinsel: $5.99. Furry Ball garland: $6.99

TIP: They also sell a black graduation tinsel option for just $1, but they have silver caps on it. Buy it if you want to save money by just ripping those suckers off!

OR

6. "A Christmas Carol."

This is your chance. Your very last chance to get your friend to somewhat enjoy Christmas as much as we, normal, people do. You don't want to pass this up!

Walmart: $6.99

For the friend who: Love to (actually) Netflix and Chill all day

This friend has watched every show on Netflix, for a fact. They're the ones who told you to start watching "Lost" and the one that told you "Friends" was finally on Netflix. *gospel choir sings* They have imprinted a permanent bum-shaped seat into their couch and the rest of their family knows that once your friend has stepped foot into the living room it'll be another six hours before they come out. The perfect present for your Netflix and chill friend includes:

1. A popcorn holder.

First of all, how freaking adorable would it be if this replaced the ordinary ol' bin. Just stack up all the goodies in here and get everyone else jealous of your present. Plus, your friend can use it for the sole purpose dumping bags and bags of popcorn into it along with the occasional M&M's. And you may wonder, doesn't this size of bowl seem a little excessive? Well my friend the answer to that question will always be "no." Enough is never really enough when it comes to concession snacks.

2. A blanket.

By purchasing this, you're doing your friend a huge favor. You know they don't leave their spot on the couch unless duty calls. So yes, they are freezing because the AC is hitting them directly, but no they will not go and turn it off. Your pal can finally stop tucking their feet and hands into the couch seats to avoid the tundra-like cold, thanks to you.

The Dollar Tree: $1

3. A tumbler.

As we've established, your friend doesn't want to get up for a single thing. So make their life easier by giving the gift of not having to get up for refills or for paper towels when they spill their drink all over the leather couch. Buy a tumbler, avoid a mess. (Choose the red or green one "BC" Christmas.)

The Dollar Tree: $1

4. Candy.

Nothing is worse than watching something really entertaining and not having something to chew on when you know another cast member of "Grey's" is about to die. It's just really awful. So stack up on the treats and save your friend from temporary anxiety.

Tip: Buy like three of these, yeah.

The Dollar Tree: $1 (each)

5. Actual popcorn.

Load up on this too, because even though popcorn gets stuck in places in your mouth you didn't even know existed sometimes, the extra buttery kind just tastes way too good. And plus, it's a fast snack to make and you don't want to waist your friend's time, do you?

The Dollar Tree: $1

Extra butter

6. A collection of old-school Christmas movies.

Maybe your friend will take a break and peel their eyes off of their screen just long enough to change what their watching. It is Christmas, and no one can pass up on the classics. So sorry, Aziz Ansari, you're extremely well-executed stand-up comedy recordings are going to have to wait.

Walmart: $10

Total: between $8 and $18 depending on whether you splurge on the movie collection!

OK, so hopefully you've found something or have at least been inspired by one of these gift sets for your friends. When you go to the stores, don't be afraid to look around. There's honestly so much funny stuff you can do with all of it. Who knows, maybe next year all your friends will be praying that you do, in fact, get their name emailed to you. Merry Christmas!

All photos were taken from the websites of The Dollar Tree, Party City, and Walmart.