Secret Santa rules
The Secret Santa rules to agree on before the draw, a few ways to play and answers to the questions that always come up.
Secret Santa online. Free name draw, no sign-up: players join with a link and each sees only their own recipient.
The rules in three sentences. Players draw names, and each gets one person to buy a gift for. Everyone sticks to the same spending limit, and all gifts are exchanged on one day. Who was whose Santa is revealed at the end — or never, if that’s what the group prefers.
Six Secret Santa rules
Post them in the group chat before the draw, and nobody argues in December.
Three players or more
Two people can’t keep a secret. Six to twenty is the sweet spot: the exchange doesn’t eat the whole evening, and every gift gets its moment.
One spending limit for everyone
Name a single number, like “up to $25”. Everyone stays within it — price gaps show the moment gifts are opened side by side.
You only know your own recipient
The name you draw stays secret until the exchange. No swapping, no hints, no comparing notes with other players.
Everyone writes wishes
Three to five lines: what they love, what to skip, a size if it’s clothing. Santa picks the gift from those lines.
The recipient’s name goes on the gift
Label the wrapping with the recipient’s name. The giver’s name appears nowhere — not on the tag, not in the card.
The reveal is up to the group
Decide in advance: guess the Santas at the end of the party, reveal them later, or keep the secret forever.
How much to spend
The right limit depends on who’s playing and how many people are in. Ranges that rarely start an argument:
- Coworkers — $15–25. People know each other from work, and a modest limit keeps things relaxed.
- Friends — $25–50: enough for a gift with personality.
- Family — $50 or more, when Secret Santa replaces everyone buying for everyone.
- School class — around $10, agreed by the parents.
Ideas within these limits: gifts for coworkers, stocking stuffers for adults and cozy gifts.
Drawing names: three ways and one rule
The rule: nobody but Santa should know whose name Santa drew.
Names in a hat
Write names on identical slips, fold them and draw in turn. If someone draws their own name, everyone draws again: putting one slip back reveals who has what.
Someone outside the game sends the pairs
Handy when players are in different cities: a colleague who isn’t playing messages everyone their recipient privately. If the organizer does it, they know every pair and lose the surprise.
An online draw
Everyone joins with a link, and the service builds the circle and shows each person only their own recipient. Couple exclusions are handled automatically.
Who to exclude
Partners, parents and kids, sometimes a manager and their report. Name the exclusions before the draw, or you’ll have to draw again.
Ways to play
Classic
A draw, gifts within one limit, an exchange on one day. Works for any group.
With anonymous questions
Santa can ask the recipient about sizes or favorite snacks without being recognized. Great when players don’t know each other well.
Guess your Santa
At the exchange, each recipient guesses who their Santa was. A small prize from the organizer for every correct guess.
No reveal
Gifts are handed out, and the Santas stay secret for good. Works well in big teams.
White Elephant instead
A different game: no draw, one pile of gifts, and players can steal from each other. Ideas for it are in the White Elephant gifts collection below.
Office etiquette
Joining is optional
Invite everyone, pressure no one. The person signed up without asking is the one who forgets the gift.
Nothing too personal
Perfume, underwear and skincare are guesses you make only for people you know well.
A joke only if everyone laughs
A gag gift works when you’re sure the recipient will laugh along with the room.
If you don’t love the gift
Say thank you anyway: your Santa chose it, spent time on it and probably read your wishes.
If someone can’t make it
Their gift waits with the organizer, and the exchange goes ahead. A spare gift within the limit saves the day if a Santa is out sick.
FAQ
Draw names, find out your recipient and buy them a gift within the shared limit. On exchange day everyone gives their gifts at once, and the Santas are revealed at the end or kept secret.
At least three. Groups of six to twenty work best.
Everyone draws again. Putting one slip back would reveal who has whom. An online draw never assigns you to yourself.
Better not. A gift that costs far more than the others makes both the recipient and the people who kept to the limit uncomfortable.
In Secret Santa everyone buys for one assigned person. In White Elephant there’s no draw: gifts go into one pile, and players pick or steal them in turn.
The group decides before the draw: guess at the party, reveal later, or never reveal.
Draw names online, ship gifts straight to each recipient and open them together on a video call.
More about Secret Santa
Updated October 7, 2026
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Tell your Santa what you’d love
Make a free GIFTbase wishlist with what you love, what to skip and your sizes, and send the link to the organizer. For your own recipient, the app suggests gift ideas within the game budget.