Virtual Secret Santa

By Yuri Nieto Faus · Updated 12 November 2026

Family spread across different cities, friends living abroad, a fully remote team: none of that stops a good Secret Santa. The draw, the gifts and the reveal can all happen online. The only real difference is planning around delivery.

Step 1: draw names online

Create a draw at drawmysecretsanta.com, add everyone’s name and share the link in your group chat. Each person sees who they got on their own phone, wherever they are, with no emails or accounts. The organiser can play too.

Step 2: decide how presents travel

Ask for addresses privately: each person sends theirs to the organiser, who passes it on only to their Santa. Never post addresses in the group.

Step 3: set a posting deadline

Pick the date of the video call first, then work backwards. Domestic parcels usually need a few days; international ones can take weeks in December. A safe rule: everything posted at least seven days before the call within one country, and earlier across borders. Write the deadline in the draw notes so everyone sees it.

Step 4: the reveal on a video call

1. Ask everyone to keep their parcel unopened until the call.
2. Go round one by one: each person opens their present on camera.
3. Before the giver owns up, everyone guesses who it was.
4. Take a screenshot of the gallery view at the end, it makes a nice memory.

Digital gift ideas that don’t feel lazy

• An online class matched to their hobby: cooking, drawing, guitar.
• A month of a streaming service or audiobook app they don’t have.
• An e-book plus a short note on why you picked it.
• A donation to a cause they care about, in their name.
• A playlist made for them, sent with a small physical treat if possible.

Tips

• Agree whether postage counts towards the budget. Most groups exclude it.
• Add a note like “send a photo when it arrives” so givers know it got there.
• For mixed time zones, pick a slot that’s reasonable for everyone, even if it’s a weekend morning.

Frequently asked questions