Secret Santa invitation messages to copy

Lauren is meeting six old school friends for a dinner in Brighton before Christmas. She posts one message in their group chat and asks for a reply within a week. It carries the budget, the dates and one line about the link, so neither Hayley nor Zoe has to ask twice.

Every good invitation answers the same few questions: who is invited, whether joining is optional, how much to spend, when to reply, when presents are swapped and how people learn their name.

If the group still disagrees about the budget or joke presents, agree the house rules for Secret Santa before you send anything.

Once everyone has said yes, create the group in Wichtlify, add the names and set who must not draw whom. Lauren adds her six friends and sets one exclusion, a rule that two named people never draw each other, for the two who live together. Wichtlify asks for the budget and date when you create the group, and every link then shows them.

Each person’s link exists from the moment you add them. Send it straight away in a private message, never as a list in the group chat, or let Wichtlify email it if you entered an address. People add wishes before the draw, and you see who has opened their link. Draw once the list is final; afterwards each link shows only whom its owner gives to.

Only the organiser needs an account. The people you invite open their link in the browser, with no account and no app, and there is an app for iPhone and Android if they prefer it. Wichtlify sends no WhatsApp or SMS itself: the messages on this page are yours to send.

The messages below suit other groups. Use this short invite when the group is small and only needs the essentials. It also works pasted into an email.

A group chat is good for sign-ups and reminders, and the same lines work as a Secret Santa text message. If your whole group lives in one chat, here is how to send the invitation on WhatsApp and keep every result out of it.

At work, say clearly that joining is voluntary and keep the gift tone neutral, so nobody feels pushed into buying something personal for a colleague.

A family invitation often needs one line on couples and households, and a word for relatives who live further away and will send their present by post.

For a club, name the event and the sign-up date. Members who only come now and then need to know whether they are expected to join.

When kids take part, keep the message simple: a small budget, age-appropriate presents, help from the parents and a clear exchange date.

In a class or nursery the parents decide, so the message must say that taking part is optional. The short note below works for a quick message; for a full letter with your own budget and dates, the letter to parents fills itself in.

White Elephant is a swap where everyone brings a funny, unusual or useless wrapped present. Its invitation needs extra lines on what counts as funny, what is off-limits and whether you swap afterwards. In Wichtlify a second draw for the joke presents is a free switch you set when you create the group; dice and swaps stay at your table. Templates with a limit on the joke are on White Elephant invitation wording.

Weeks can pass between the draw and the exchange. Wichtlify reminds people with empty wish lists for free: a notice in their link, a notification in the app and an email once their address is confirmed. You see whose wish list is still empty, but never who drew whom.

For the swap date and the meeting place, a short message from you is enough; use the template. If you want Wichtlify to remind people on dates you choose, that is part of Wichtlify Pro. It is optional, €4.99 a year, renews automatically, is bought in the iOS or Android app and is valid for every group on your account.

After the invitation comes one more small text: the card on the present. A short rhyme does not give away who it is from, but it makes the unwrapping warmer than a blank tag.

The office verse suits a team, the second a friend or relative, and the last a joke present; shorten any of them to suit your group. If the present itself is still missing, see the Secret Santa gift ideas.