Secret Santa for the Whole Family

The bigger the family, the more expensive and hectic the holidays get: everyone needs a gift, time is short, and ideas are shorter. Secret Santa solves this simply: each person gives one gift — and receives one. Here's how to run a family draw online and what to think about ahead of time.

So couples don't draw each other

The most common family-draw complaint: "I got my own husband." Group couples as exclusions before the draw — people in the same group will never be matched with each other. The same trick works for parents with small kids, or for relatives who exchanged last year and want someone new.

How to set it up

1. Create a box and set the budget as a range: families include students and retirees alike, and a range like $20–40 lets everyone take part comfortably.
2. Send one link to the family chat. Everyone joins on their own and fills in a wishlist — no more collecting names over weeks of phone calls.
3. Add the exclusions and run the draw — everyone gets their match privately.
4. Use the anonymous chat for hints: you can ask about sizes — or “spinning or fly fishing?” — without giving yourself away.
5. Exchange gifts at the gathering. Guessing who drew whom is a dinner-table game of its own.

A couple of practical tips

• Ask everyone to add three wishlist ideas: something practical, something fun, and something they'd never buy themselves. With hints, gifts turn out personal; without them, they turn out to be candles.
• Relatives in other cities take part like everyone else: each person can add a postal address — visible only to their Santa — and the gift ships directly.

One thoughtful gift beats a pile bought in a rush. You can start below.