Remote Secret Santa: how to run one at a distance

What changes at a distance

Three things. Gifts travel, so the dates move earlier. Santas need an address, and asking for one must not give the secret away. And the reveal happens on a screen, so it needs a little structure to feel like a party.

Collect addresses before the draw

If a Santa has to ask "what is your address?", the secret is gone. Collect every address before the draw and put them where the whole group can see them: a pinned message in the group chat, or a shared note. Then looking one up tells nobody anything.

Ask for a phone number too if couriers in your country need one, and for the name on the doorbell if it differs from the name people use.

Work back from the call

1. Fix the date of the video call first.
2. Set the date gifts must arrive by: about a week before the call inside one country, two to three weeks when parcels cross a border.
3. Run the draw at least two weeks before that, so people have time to choose, buy and post.
4. Send one reminder a few days before the posting date.

Postage and customs

• Decide whether postage is inside the budget. For international groups it is fairer to keep it outside.
• Parcels that cross a customs border can be delayed, and the person receiving them may have to pay a charge. Check the rules for the countries involved before posting.
• Ordering from a shop in the recipient's country avoids both problems. Choose gift wrapping at checkout if the shop offers it, and leave your name off the delivery note.
• Avoid fragile things, liquids, and food that will not survive a week in a van.

Gifts that travel well

• Flat and light: books, prints, socks, scarves, card games.
• Something local to where you live that the other person cannot buy: sweets, a spice mix, a magazine.
• Digital gifts, if the group allows them: an e-book, a film rental, a subscription for a month.
• A kit to open on the call: hot chocolate for the evening itself, or a small puzzle.

The reveal on a video call

1. Everyone brings their parcel to the call, still wrapped.
2. Go in a fixed order, for example by first name, and open one gift at a time with the camera on it.
3. After each gift, the group guesses who the Santa was.
4. When all gifts are open, reveal the names. In Secret Santa Twist an admin starts the reveal and it goes ahead once enough of the people taking part approve, so nobody can peek early.

When a parcel is late

It will happen to someone. Agree in advance what to do: the Santa shows a photo of the gift on the call and the parcel is opened when it arrives, with a picture for the group chat. Do not postpone the call for one parcel.