Virtual Secret Santa: how to organise it without meeting up

A virtual Secret Santa is the answer when the family is scattered, friends have moved away or the team partly works from home. The idea stays the same (a draw, a present, a secret), but the organising needs a few tweaks. Here's how to do it, step by step.

Why organise a virtual Secret Santa?

Sending a present to every member of the family soon gets expensive, between the shopping and the postage. With Secret Santa, everyone sends just one parcel, to one person. It's simpler, cheaper, and the surprise stays intact. If you're new to the game, start with the Secret Santa rules.

1. Run the Secret Santa draw online

You can't pull names out of a hat when nobody is in the same room. So an online draw is a must:

1. the organiser creates the group and sets the date and budget;
2. they share the invitation link in the family WhatsApp group or by email;
3. everyone signs up with their first name, from their phone;
4. when the draw takes place, each person finds out on their own page who they're buying for. Nobody else can see it.

With Santamigo, it's free, there's no account to create, and exclusions (a couple who shouldn't draw each other, for example) are handled automatically.

2. Set a budget that includes (or doesn't include) delivery

With a virtual Secret Santa, the question of postage comes up. There are two options, and you should announce yours clearly:

• the budget includes delivery: simpler, but the present will be a little more modest;
• the budget covers the present only: more generous, but everyone pays for postage on top.

A budget of £20 to £30 works well for families. Need ideas? Here are 15 Secret Santa gift ideas under £20 that are easy to have delivered.

3. Get the delivery address without giving the secret away

This is the tricky part. If you ask your recipient for their address, they'll know it's you. A few solutions:

• in families, everyone often knows each other's addresses: no problem there;
• among friends, the organiser can collect everyone's address at the start and pass them on discreetly;
• at work, Santamigo's business plan lets each person enter an encrypted delivery address that only their Secret Santa can see.

4. Help everyone find the right present

From a distance, you sometimes know less about other people's tastes. Two good habits:

• ask each participant to write a short wish list that their Secret Santa can look at;
• use anonymous messaging to ask a question ("what's your jumper size?") without giving yourself away. Santamigo includes it for free.

5. Open the presents together on a video call

This is the moment that makes a virtual Secret Santa every bit as warm as the real thing. Set a date and time, start a video call, and everyone opens their parcel in turn in front of the camera. The rest of the group tries to guess who sent it.

To finish, do the big reveal: who was buying for whom? On Santamigo, the organiser can trigger an animated big reveal: a garland lights up and reveals, one by one, who was buying for whom.

Virtual Secret Santa pitfalls to avoid

• Ordering too late: in December, delivery times get longer. Hold the draw at least three weeks before the opening.
• Forgetting about time zones if some people live abroad.
• Leaving someone without a parcel: check a few days beforehand that everyone has ordered. Automatic reminders help a lot.