Virtual Secret Santa: how to do it when you can't meet

Step by step

1. Draw names online: share one Secret Santa link in the group chat, and each person taps their own name to see who they are buying for.
2. Set the budget, and say whether shipping counts toward it.
3. Set the date gifts should arrive, not the date to send them, and allow extra time for international post.
4. Ask everyone to write a wish list, with sizes and anything that can't be shipped to them.
5. Open the gifts together on a video call.

Sending gifts without sharing addresses

• Keep home addresses out of the group chat. The simplest private route: each Santa asks the organizer for their person's address.
• For work teams, ship to the office or choose digital gifts.
• Order from a shop in the recipient's country to save shipping time and avoid customs fees.
• Ask the shop to leave out the receipt, and sign the gift note "Your Secret Santa".

Gifts that travel well

• Digital: e-books, an audiobook, a subscription, or a gift card for a shop they like.
• Small and light: books, puzzles, stationery, cozy socks, or local treats that keep.
• An experience they can book near home, such as a cooking class or cinema tickets.

Across time zones

Pick a time for the video call with a quick meeting poll: everyone marks when they are free in their own time zone, and the best time for the whole group lights up.