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Secret Santa guides

Plain-English help for running a gift exchange: the rules, the etiquette, and the small details that make it go smoothly.

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• How Secret Santa works

  How Secret Santa works, step by step: drawing names, setting a budget, wishlists, exclusions and the reveal, plus simple rules that keep any gift exchange fun.

• White elephant gift exchange rules

  Clear white elephant gift exchange rules: how the numbers, opening and stealing work, popular steal limits, how it differs from Secret Santa, and tips for a fun game.

• Secret Santa questionnaire

  A ready-to-use Secret Santa questionnaire with wish list questions for coworkers, friends, family and kids. Copy, print or paste it into your group chat.

• How to run an office Secret Santa

  How to run a Secret Santa for coworkers: opt-in invites, budget etiquette, drawing names without emails, work-appropriate gift rules, and a simple timeline.

• Virtual Secret Santa for remote teams

  How to run a virtual Secret Santa online: draw names with private links, handle shipping and addresses safely, plan for international teammates, and host the unboxing call.

• How to do a family Secret Santa

  How to set up a family Secret Santa: who's in, keeping couples and households apart, budgets across generations, a separate kids' draw, and relatives who live far away.

• Gift exchange games and ideas

  Ten gift exchange games for holiday parties, offices and families: Secret Santa, white elephant, the dice game, left-right story, theme swaps and more, with how each one works.

• Secret Santa card messages

  What to write in a Secret Santa card: short, funny, work-friendly and family messages, anonymous sign-offs, clue messages for guessing games, and thank-you notes.

• How to do Secret Santa by text, without email

  How to run Secret Santa by text message, WhatsApp or group chat with no email addresses: draw names online, send each person a private link, and track who has opened theirs.

Gift ideas

Ideas by budget and by person are in our Secret Santa gift guides.