Virtual Secret Santa: how to run it online, step by step

How to do Secret Santa online in 7 steps

Plan five weeks from the first message to the call. Most of that time is shipping.

1. 1Set the rules and ask who's in. One budget with shipping included, the date of the reveal call, and a sign-up deadline. Joining is optional.
2. 2Collect sign-ups and addresses privately. Use a form only the organizer can see, or a draw tool that stores addresses for you. Ask for three likes, one thing to avoid, and whether an e-gift is fine. Never a shared sheet or a group thread.
3. 3Draw names online, with exclusions. Keep managers and their direct reports apart, and anyone who shares a home. Each Santa gets one private message: the name, the address and the hint card.
4. 4Shop by about 2.5 weeks out. Order from a store that ships straight to the recipient. Nothing passes through the giver's hands, so nothing needs repacking.
5. 5Ship 7 to 10 days before the call. Ask everyone to leave the box closed until the call. Givers who miss the date switch to an e-gift.
6. 6Hold the reveal call. Everyone opens on camera and guesses their Santa. The run sheets below fit 10, 25 or 50 people.
7. 7Keep a backup e-gift. The organizer holds one e-gift card at the budget for any gift that is late, lost or forgotten, and sends it the day before the call.

For the draw, our free Secret Santa generator keeps chosen pairs apart and writes each Santa’s private message. Whoever sends those messages sees every match, so if the organizer wants to play, ask a colleague outside the exchange to run it.

The shipping calendar, worked back from the call

Dated for a reveal call on Thursday, December 17. Shift every date by the same amount for yours.

1. Thu, Nov 125 weeks before

   Announce and open the sign-up form. Address, three likes, one thing to avoid, e-gift OK or not.

2. Thu, Nov 194 weeks before

   Draw names, send matches privately. Name, address and hint card, one private message each.

3. Mon, Nov 302.5 weeks before

   Shop-by date. Orders placed, shipping straight to the recipient.

4. Mon, Dec 710 days before

   Ship-by date for US addresses. Remind givers to check their tracking.

5. Thu, Dec 101 week before

   Last call. Anything not yet shipped becomes an e-gift.

6. Wed, Dec 16The day before

   Check for missing gifts. Ask who is still waiting and send the backup e-gift.

7. Thu, Dec 17Call day

   Reveal call. Boxes open on camera, Santas guessed and revealed.

How to send a Secret Santa gift anonymously

A return address is the easiest way for a remote Santa to give themselves away.

1. Ship from the store, not from home. A box you mail yourself carries your name and address on the label.
2. Tick the gift option at checkout. Where a store offers one, it usually adds your note and leaves prices off the packing slip. Check its gift help page to be sure.
3. Sign the note "Your Secret Santa". Then check the order page for any field that prints your real name on the label.
4. Skip signature and pickup deliveries. A missed signature or a trip to a pickup point can hold the box past the call.
5. Ask for closed boxes. Recipients set the box aside until the call, so everyone opens at the same moment.

Teammates in other countries

• Default to an e-gift. A gift card from a shop that operates in their country arrives by email, with no customs and no delay.
• Or buy from a local store. Order from a retailer inside their country, so the parcel never crosses a border.
• Mailing across borders? Allow several weeks and possible customs charges for the recipient, and ship as early as the draw allows.

Virtual Secret Santa generator: 3 ways to draw names online

All three draw so nobody gets their own name. They differ in what else they handle for you.

• KraftyLab Secret Santa generator

  How people join

  The organizer types the names. Free, no sign-up; it runs in your browser and stores nothing.

  Exclusions

  Keep teammates apart, block any pair, avoid two-way swaps.

  Wish lists

  No. Send each Santa a hint card yourself.

  Addresses

  No. Collect them with a private form.

• Elfster

  How people join

  Players are invited by email and join the group.

  Exclusions

  Yes, pairs who can't draw each other.

  Wish lists

  Yes, built in.

  Addresses

  Yes. Each address is shared only with that person's Santa.

• DrawNames

  How people join

  Invites go out by text or messaging apps; no email needed.

  Exclusions

  Yes, for spouses or anyone who shouldn't draw each other.

  Wish lists

  Yes, with a gift finder.

  Addresses

  Not listed on its app page. Collect them privately.

Features as each tool describes them on its own site in October 2026; they change, so check before you pick. KraftyLab isn’t affiliated with Elfster or DrawNames.

Reveal-call run sheet for 10, 25 or 50 people

Allow about 90 seconds per person to open a gift on camera. Above about 15 people, open in breakout rooms so nobody waits 40 minutes for a turn.

Split across time zones? Hold two short calls, or go async: everyone posts a photo or short video of their unboxing in one channel with a guess, and the Santas reveal on a set day.

Need a closing game? Pick one from our online Christmas games, or swap the draw for a gift exchange game played live on the call.

Copy-paste virtual Secret Santa invite

Fill in the brackets and post it by email or in your team channel.

Make the reveal call a holiday party

The gifts are the warm-up. A live host can run the rest of the hour.

• A hosted game after the reveal: our virtual holiday party games run about an hour on Zoom by default (Teams, Meet or Webex on request). Teams split across time zones can run it as two sessions. Book about 2 weeks ahead; December dates fill first.
• A kit everyone opens together: skip the shopping and ship the same kit to every home, then make it on the call with a live host, like virtual cookie decorating. Book kits at least 3 weeks ahead, about 5 for international addresses.
• The company is buying? Send everyone the same holiday gift, from $22, shipped to each address with your note inside.