Secret Santa reveal ideas: how to end the game well

Reveal the Santas, or keep them secret?

Most groups reveal who gave what, because the thank-you is half the pleasure. Some keep it secret for good, which suits offices where a gift should not be measured against the giver. Decide before the party and tell everyone, so nobody announces themselves too early.

Open one gift at a time

• One person opens while everyone watches. It takes longer, and it is the point.
• Choose the order by age, by first name, or by drawing numbers.
• Or let each person choose who opens next.
• Take a photo of each person with their gift, for the group chat.

Guessing games

• One guess each: after opening, the person names who they think their Santa is. Count the right answers at the end.
• Clues on the card: every Santa writes one true clue about themselves.
• Twenty questions: the person asks the room yes-or-no questions until the Santa is found.
• Vote: everyone points at the suspected Santa at the count of three.
• Reverse reveal: Santas stand up one by one and say "I was Santa for…", and the room finishes the sentence.

With a twist

• Colour exchange: put all the parcels on one table first. The picture of a dozen colours is worth a photo, and people guess which Santa had which colour.
• Challenge exchange: read the three words out before the gift is opened, and let the room guess what is inside.
• Wishlist exchange: the person says which idea they hoped for most before opening.

On a video call

• Everyone keeps the parcel closed until their turn.
• Go in a fixed order, and open with the camera on the gift.
• Guess in the chat, all at the same moment.
• Reveal the names at the end, when every gift has been opened.

When someone is missing

• An absent Santa: their person opens the gift anyway, and the Santa joins by phone for the guess.
• An absent recipient: keep the parcel closed and film a message from the group.
• A missing gift: the Santa shows a photo and delivers it later. Keep one spare gift for the party just in case.

The reveal in Secret Santa Twist

1. At the party, an admin of the group starts the reveal in the app.
2. Everyone who took part in the draw is asked to approve it.
3. When enough people have approved, by default a majority, the app shows who was whose Santa. Only the number of approvals is shown, never who approved.
4. Until then nobody can see the pairs, the admin included, so nobody can end the game alone.