How To Host A virtual Secret Santa

If you’re unable to get together for your Christmas gathering or secret Santa gift exchange with family, friends, or coworkers, you’ve still got plenty of options!  Thanks to technology like our virtual secret Santa Generator and video meeting tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and FaceTime, you can still have all the joy and laughter of a traditional get-together. We’ve put together some tips on how to host a fun and trouble-free virtual secret Santa gift exchange with SneakySanta.com.

Who Is In?

First step? Get everyone together in your Sneaky Santa group. With SneakySanta.com, you can quickly create a group and you’ll have your own invite link to share via email, text, social media, or any other method you like. When your friends and family visit the invite link, they simply enter an email address, password, type the name they want to use in your group, and they’re in. There is no limit on group size and you can have as many groups as you’d like. Host a virtual secret Santa for for family, your workout group, coworkers, book club, you name it!

How Much? When?

Decide on a budget amount and a date you want to do the virtual secret Santa gift exchange. You can include that info in your description when you create your group, so everyone will see it on your invite screen and on your group screen. Your group members each have their own wishlist and can add items anytime they want, before and after you draw names. Sneaky Santa allows you to list anything. You can list your favorite candy, coffee, music or you can get specific with links to your favorite items from stores like Amazon, Walmart, Nordstrom, Lululemon, your favorite local shop, or any other online store. It’s a wish list after all, so add whatever you like! The person who picks your name can even send an anonymous “Sneaky Message” through Sneaky Santa if they’ve got a question about something on your list.

Where To Mail The Gifts?

If you’re doing a virtual secret Santa, you’re probably going to be mailing your gifts. Sneaky Santa has the perfect solution to sharing mailing addresses in your group. Just select “Mailing Address” from your “Wishlist Settings” menu on your wishlist screen. Only you and the person who picks your name will be able to see the address.  So, for example, if you’re in an office secret Santa gift exchange and may not want to share your address with everyone, you can be sure that only the person who picks your name can see it! 

When Is The Gift Exchange Party?

After everyone has made their wish lists and entered their mailing addresses, it’s time to shop!  You’ll want to set a date for your virtual get-together that gives everyone time to shop and ship their gift to their Sneaky Santa. If you can get folks to resist temptation and wait to open their Sneaky Santa gifts while you are all together, it is loads of fun!

What Video Chat Service To Use?

You will need to pick a video chat service to have your Christmas party online and have your virtual Sneaky Santa gift exchange. There are several options, some free, to choose from: You will want to set one of these up before your gift exchange date and let everyone know the login/link/code to join the call. You can’t really go wrong with any of these video conference tools, and it mostly comes down to which one fits your situation and that your group members are most comfortable with. We hope these tips inspire you to make the most of your long-distance secret Santa this year and we’d love to help you Make It Sneaky. Just head over to sneakysanta.com to organize your gift exchange with your family, friends or coworkers and see what we mean when we say, “It’s Fun to be Sneaky!”  

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