How to run a Secret Santa for your Christmas party, step by step

Run a Secret Santa or gift swap for friends, family or the office: wish lists, a fair draw, the emails and the party night on a big screen. Free for up to 100 guests.

A Secret Santa sounds simple until you run one. Someone has to collect the names, keep couples from drawing each other, write the names on paper, hand them out without peeking, and answer "who did I get again?" a week later. This guide walks through running it properly, from the first invitation to the night itself, with Yaypick Christmas. It is free for up to 100 guests, and nobody needs an app.

Pick the activity first

Decide what kind of gift giving you want before you invite anyone, because it decides what guests fill in.

Secret Santa. Everyone draws a name and buys a present for that person.
Hidden Santa. Givers get a wish list, a hint and a gift number, never the name. The surprise lasts until the presents are opened.
Secret Santa + bad present. A normal Secret Santa, plus a funny bad present for someone else, and a game of steal at the party.
Gift swap. No names to draw. Everyone brings a wrapped gift, then opens one or steals one on the night.

Set a gift budget and one remark for everyone, for example "wrap it nicely and bring it on the night". You can add your own questions to the guest form too, such as food allergies or a T-shirt size.

Write the invitation before you share anything

Check the words of the invitation email first. Every guest you add by name and email gets it with their own link, so it should be right before the first one goes out. Then add your guests in one of two ways:

Type them in, or import a list. A CSV or Excel file with a nickname and an email column. Each guest gets their personal link by email.
Share one link or QR code. Put it in the group chat or show it at the office. Guests add themselves with a nickname and an email, no account needed.

Emails come from no-reply@yaypick.app. If a guest can't find theirs, ask them to check Spam or Junk, or send it to them again from the guest list.

Let guests write their wish lists

Each guest opens their page on their phone and fills in the form: a wish list, or what they like, plus any questions you added. You see who has finished in a table, so you know who to remind. You never need to chase anyone by message.

Keep couples apart, then draw

Before the draw, mark the pairs who should not draw each other: couples, family, or two people who already swap presents. Then press start once. The names are picked at random and every guest gets an email with their match, the wish list, the budget and the party details. The match is on their phone too, so nobody loses it.

The organiser never sees who drew whom. If you are joining the party yourself, join as a guest from your own phone like everyone else, and your own Santa stays a surprise.

People who join late are not a problem. Add them after the start: each new guest gets a match, and only one other Santa per new guest gets a new one.

Guess your Santa

For extra fun before the party, turn on "Guess your Santa". Each Santa can send their match one anonymous clue a day. At the party, everyone guesses who their Santa was before the reveal.

On the night

Open the big screen on the TV or projector and run it from your phone.

Welcome screen. Your title, a message and the date and venue, while people arrive and put presents under the tree.
The reveal and the games. Run the guessing, the gift swap and the steal round from the controller, while the big screen shows everyone what is happening.

A simple timeline

Three weeks before: choose the activity, write the invitation, add guests.
Two weeks before: remind anyone whose wish list is still empty, then start the draw.
The week before: clues arrive every day, if you turned on "Guess your Santa".
The night: welcome screen up, presents under the tree, then the reveal.

You can run up to five Christmas parties per account each season, from 1 November to 6 January, for friends, family and work. Start your Christmas party and the steps on the page take you through the rest.