For family, friends and the office

Organise Secret Santa: one group, one draw, a link for everyone

Wichtlify is a free website and app for Secret Santa: you add the names, Wichtlify draws them in secret, and each person sees through their own link only who they are buying for.

Free to organise and draw; only the organiser needs an account
Everyone else opens their link in the browser, with an optional app for iPhone and Android
Each person sees only the one name they drew

Who has opened their link – in the iPhone app

How it works

Four steps to a secret draw

Create the groupChoose the occasion, the date and a budget, in pounds or euros.
Add the namesAnyone who must not draw someone, such as a couple, you set as an exclusion.
Draw in secretNobody draws themselves, and nobody sees the whole list, not even you.
Send the linksYou send each person their own link, by WhatsApp or email, before or after the draw. In it they add wishes and, after the draw, see who they are buying for.

For every occasion

Christmas, a birthday or the office party

The Douglas sisters

Five sisters in three towns stopped texting each other the names

Every Christmas, Kirsty and her four sisters sorted out their Secret Santa by text message, and every year someone found out too much. They live in three different towns, so pulling slips from a hat at the table was never an option.

This year Kirsty took a few minutes to create the group and add the names: five sisters, a £30 budget and the gift swap at her house in Aberdeen.

Once everyone was in, she ran the draw. Each sister got her own link with her one name in it.

The group page before the draw, with members, wishes and exclusions – in the browser

Kirsty’s calendar

Drawn:: Saturday 14 November
Swap:: Sunday 20 December, at Kirsty’s

For everyone else

Taking part only needs the personal link

Only Kirsty, who organised, needed an account. Her sisters installed nothing and signed up for nothing: their link opens in the browser. Anyone who prefers the app, which exists for iPhone and Android, signs in with Apple, Google or email and sees the same name there.

Where Kirsty had stored an email address, Wichtlify emailed the link. The other sisters got theirs from her in the family WhatsApp chat, one message each, because Wichtlify sends no WhatsApp messages or texts.

Each sister added a few wishes in her link, so the others had something to go on. If a list stays empty, the giver can still turn to practical gift ideas by budget.

A member's personal page – in the browser

Each result stays personal – in the iPhone app

What each link shows

The name you drew, and their wishes if they entered any
The budget and the date of the swap
Your own wish list to fill in

Secret and fair

Flatmates stay apart, and the result stays secret

Fiona and Morag share a flat, so Kirsty set an exclusion: neither can draw the other. Exclusions can keep couples from drawing each other too, or anyone who would guess too easily. Wichtlify always keeps them, and if they leave no possible draw, it says so before drawing.

Nobody draws themselves, and no one sees the whole list, so Kirsty took part like everyone else. Two sisters can still end up drawing each other: that is chance, not a mistake. For the details, read how the secret draw works.

Set exclusions before the draw – in the browser

Set exclusions before the draw – in the iPhone app

Until the swap

A sister dropping out leaves everyone else’s person in place

In her overview of the group, Kirsty could see who had opened their link and whose wish list was still empty, but never who drew whom. An automatic reminder for missing wishes went out without her: a notice in the link, a notification in the app and an email to anyone who has confirmed their address.

If a sister drops out after the draw, Kirsty starts an emergency repair. Wichtlify asks who steps in, and only the people affected get a new name. Next year she can repeat the group, and the draw avoids this year’s pairs.

You need none of the extras for an ordinary Secret Santa. If you want more, add Wichtlify Pro: €4.99 a year, renews automatically, bought in the app and valid for all the groups on your account.

Pro adds reminder dates you choose, wish images, anonymous questions to the person you give to, and printed cards for people without a phone. Whoever prints the cards sees the names.

Someone drops out after the draw – in the browser

Someone drops out after the draw – in the iPhone app

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How many people can take part?

A draw needs at least three people, and a group on the website takes up to 100.

What if someone wants to join after the draw?

Then you draw again, before anyone has looked at their link. Someone who drops out after the draw is replaced by the emergency repair instead, without a new draw.

Does Wichtlify look after the presents too?

No. Wichtlify holds the names, the draw, the budget and the date. Gift style, posting or handing over the presents and where the humour stops stay with the group.

Next steps

Find the page for your group

Every group has its own questions. Start with the one that sounds like yours.

Start with the group name

You can add the people straight afterwards, and draw whenever everyone is in.

Create your Secret Santa group

Organise Secret Santa: one group, one draw, a link for everyone

Four steps to a secret draw

Christmas, a birthday or the office party