Secret Santa for remote teams and home offices
When the team works remotely, Secret Santa needs a bit more planning: how does the gift reach the recipient, and how does the exchange feel? With these tips, online Secret Santa works without a shared office.
Send gifts or give digitally
There are two ways: a parcel by mail or a digital gift.
- Parcel: personal and nice, but it involves shipping costs, delivery time and an address. Include shipping in the budget.
- Digital: a voucher, an e-book, a coffee voucher or a donation in the person’s name. It arrives instantly and needs no postal address.
Addresses: keeping them private
Wichtellab does not store postal addresses. After the draw, the page of your match shows their email address. If you want to send a parcel, write a short message and ask for the delivery address. This tells the person that you are their Secret Santa.
If you want to keep the secret until the exchange, choose a digital gift that is only revealed at the exchange, or ask the organizer to find out the address.
Plan deadlines more generously
Distributed teams need more lead time: delivery times, holidays and, for international teams, customs. Draw three weeks rather than two before the exchange and set the deadline for wishes a week before that.
Exchange in a video call
Set a date in a team call where everyone unwraps their gift together. It replaces the gift exchange in the office and turns Secret Santa into a team experience. Plan 30 to 45 minutes so everyone can unwrap in peace and say thanks.
Wichtellab provides a calendar entry for the exchange date that everyone can download from their match page.
Time zones and languages
Wichtellab sends the emails in the language you choose for the round: German or English. Deadline and exchange are calendar days, so when in doubt allow plenty of time so nobody is late because of a time zone.
Everything by email, no app needed
Participants need no account, no app and no tool that IT has to approve first. An email inbox is enough. Invitation, wishlist and match link arrive as a link by email and work on phone and laptop.
Frequently asked questions about online Secret Santa
How do you do Secret Santa online?
One person creates the round and invites the team by email. Everyone adds their wishes, then the draw happens automatically and each person receives their match by email.
What do you give in a home office?
Things that can be shipped or arrive digitally work well: coffee or tea, notebooks, small office items, vouchers or books.
How does the gift reach the recipient?
By mail to the home address you ask your match for, or digitally as a voucher. After the draw, your match’s email address is on your match page.