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Secret Santa rules

Secret Santa is a gift exchange where each person is secretly assigned one other person to buy for. Here are the rules most groups use.

The basic rules

1. Everyone's name goes into the draw.
2. Each person draws one name and keeps it secret. You can't draw yourself.
3. The group agrees on one spending limit.
4. Everyone buys one gift for their person and brings it on the agreed date.
5. Gifts are exchanged. The group decides whether givers are revealed.

Optional rules

• Exclusions: couples or housemates can't draw each other.
• Wishlists: each person lists two or three ideas.
• Theme: "something handmade", "a book", or "local only".
• Guessing game: at the party, recipients guess who their Santa was.

When someone drops out

If one person leaves after the draw, the simplest fair fix is to redraw. If gifts are already bought, the person who drew the dropout can buy for whoever the dropout had drawn.

Questions

Updated October 27, 2026