IntroducingYour Online Secret Santa Bash

Secret Santa is a game where participants try to guess who their personalized gifts are from. This party game is fairly simple, but the process of organizing an in-person gift exchange while maintaining anonymity can be a bit more complicated.

Traditional Secret Santa

Here is what a traditional, in-person Secret Santa might look like:

1. Decide party details. Let everyone know the event date, event location, and gift budget.
2. Write each participant's name down on a piece of paper. Hand a piece of paper out to each participant and have them write their names on it.
3. Include a wishlist. On the same piece of paper, have participants include a gift suggestion or two. It can be as vague or as specific as they would like.
4. Draw names randomly to assign Secret Santas to their gift buddies. Mix up the pieces of paper and place them into a container (e.g. hat, box, etc.). Each participant will reach in and grab a piece of paper. This is who they will buy a gift for. Remind them to tag their gift with their gift buddy's name, but not their own!
5. Have the party! On the day of, participants will open their gifts and guess who their Secret Santa is! For rules on the day of, check out our favorite Secret Santa variation.

Super simple! But, what if someone's handwriting is illegible? You would need to start over. What if someone's wishlist is unclear? There's no way to clarify without giving yourself away. There are lots of things that can go south with a traditional Secret Santa setup.

A Modern Approach: Secret Santa Bash

An in-person Secret Santa party can be organized online using Secret Santa Bash, with no risk of participants knowing anybody else's Secret Santa.

Here is what a Secret Santa organized online might look like:

1. Get party details. Decide with your group the event date, event location, and gift budget. In addition, get a list of the participant names and email addresses to receive their gift buddy.
2. Go to Secret Santa Bash. Fill in the event details, the participant list, and add rules if you would like. You can include a personal message to remind them to tag their gift with their gift buddy's name, but not their own. Then, create your party!
3. Start the party! The host will receive an email containing a link to the Host Dashboard, where they can start the party. Each participant will be emailed a link to their personal dashboard, where they can view their gift buddy and wishlist.
4. Update wishlists. On the personal dashboard, each participant is encouraged to add a few items to their wishlist, which will be viewable by that participant's Secret Santa. A Secret Santa can also send an anonymous message to their gift buddy to ask for clarification or remind them to update their wishlist.
5. Have the party! On the day of, participants will open their gifts and guess who their Secret Santa is! For rules on the day of, check out our favorite Secret Santa variation.

Our Favorite Secret Santa Variation

Secret Santa rules can vary widely from household to household. Traditionally, participants will go around in a circle, one-by-one, opening their gift and guessing their Secret Santa. Then, the Secret Santas reveal themselves. However, the game ends quickly since all the Secret Santas are revealed after the first go-around.

This variation prolongs the suspense a little longer, which is why this is our favorite variation of Secret Santa!

1. Participants open gifts and guess. One-by-one, in a circle, each participant will open their gift and guess their Secret Santa, and no one confirms whether this guess is correct (neither the real Secret Santa nor the one guessed).
2. Incorrect? Guess again. Once all participants have made their first guess, go around once more in the same order. The participant that was guessed as the Secret Santa will let everyone know if the guess was correct.
   • If correct, celebrate and continue on to the next participant.
   • If incorrect, the current participant will guess someone else. Again, no one should confirm whether this new guess is correct.
3. Continue guessing until all Secret Santas are revealed. Continue going around in a circle. All participants who still don't know their Secret Santa continue guessing. The participants that know their Secret Santa are skipped.