Virtual Secret Santa
Organise a virtual Secret Santa online
Wichtlify is a free website and app for Secret Santa: you add the names, Wichtlify draws them in secret online, and each person sees through their own link only who they are buying for.
- Draw online without meeting, then post the presents
- No list of results anywhere, so the organiser takes part too
- Free; only the organiser needs an account
-
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, even before the draw. In it they add wishes and, after the draw, see who they are buying for.
What Secret Santa is
In Secret Santa each person secretly draws one other and gives them a present
In Secret Santa every person draws the name of one other person in secret and gives them a present, usually at Christmas. Who gave what comes out when the presents are unwrapped, or never. Online, Wichtlify does the drawing, so nobody has to be in the same room.
Only the organiser needs an account. Everyone else opens their link in the browser, with no account and no app; the app is there for iPhone and Android.
Eleven colleagues, three cities
Siobhan’s support team has never been in one room
Siobhan runs a fully remote support team of 11 from Belfast. Dev works from Cork, Gareth from Swansea, and nobody has met the whole team in person. A virtual Secret Santa is the one Christmas tradition they can all share.
Siobhan creates the group with a £12 budget and Tuesday 15 December as the date, the day they unwrap their presents together on a video call. She adds the eleven first names, and two colleagues who share a flat go in as an exclusion, so neither can draw the other.
One link each
An online Secret Santa gives everyone their own link
Every link exists from the moment its person is added, so wishes come in before the draw. Dev opens his on his laptop, adds a wish or two and puts his postal address at the top, since the presents go by post.
Siobhan added an email address for most of the team, and Wichtlify emailed those links itself. She pasted the rest into private chats, because Wichtlify sends no WhatsApp messages or texts. For groups that live on WhatsApp, that is usually the quickest way anyway.
Taking part
- First names are enough to add someone
- The budget and the date are in every link
- The app is optional; the organiser can sign in with Apple, Google or email
No list of results
After the draw, even Siobhan knows only who she is buying for
On Thursday 19 November Siobhan runs the draw, which leaves almost four weeks for the post. After it, each link shows the name drawn and that person’s wishes. No link shows the whole list, not even the organiser’s, so Siobhan takes part like everyone else.
Nobody draws themselves, and the exclusion holds; if exclusions leave no possible draw, Wichtlify says so before drawing. How the draw works explains the details.
If a group wants no wish lists and only quick names, the Secret Santa generator is the shortest way.
Three days after the draw
Siobhan sees who has looked and whose wish list is empty
Three days after the draw, Siobhan opens her overview of the group. It shows who has opened their link and whose wish list is still empty, but never who drew whom, so she nudges the two colleagues who have not looked.
Wichtlify also reminds people with an empty wish list, for free: a notice in their link, a push in the app, and an email once the address is confirmed. An ordinary Secret Santa needs nothing more. To go further, Siobhan could add Wichtlify Pro: €4.99 a year, renews automatically, bought in the app and valid for all the groups on her account. It adds reminders on dates you choose and anonymous questions, so Dev can ask the colleague he drew for their favourite colour without giving himself away.
Until the call
A colleague drops out, and the call goes ahead
Two weeks before the call a colleague drops out. Siobhan removes them and starts an emergency repair: Wichtlify asks who steps in, and only the people affected get a new name. Everyone else keeps their person, and the repair is free.
Every parcel goes out by Tuesday 8 December, and postage does not count towards the £12. Flat, light things travel best, so look for gift ideas that post well before you buy.
On the call, everyone opens their parcel on camera and guesses who sent it. Afterwards Siobhan turns on the reveal, a free switch that is off by default: each person then sees who gave to them, and still nobody sees the whole list. Next year she can repeat the group, and the draw avoids this year’s pairs.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does it work with an odd number of people?
Yes. Everyone gives to exactly one other person, so the number does not matter. A draw needs at least three people, and a group on the web can have up to 100 people.
How much should a present cost, and does postage count?
Your group decides. You enter the budget when you create the group, for example £10 to £15 (or €10 to €15), and it appears in every link. Agree in advance whether postage counts towards it.
Does it work for other occasions too?
Yes. You choose the occasion when you create the group, and the draw works the same way. Some families draw for St Nicholas’ Day on 6 December, for example.
What if a new colleague joins after the draw?
Add them and draw again. That is only fair before anyone has looked at their name, so ask for late joiners before the draw.
Next steps
Where to go next
Pick the page that fits your group.
Office Secret Santa
For teams that do meet in the office, with a work Christmas do to plan around.
Plan it at workSecret Santa without email addresses
For friends and family where you only have phone numbers.
Use names onlyStart your virtual Secret Santa
Name the group and add the first people. Their links exist straight away, so the wishes can start coming in.
Create your online group