Secret Santa by text message: draw names without email

You can run Secret Santa by text message. Each person joins with a mobile number instead of an email address, and gets their match as a text when you draw names. It is the easy way to include people who rarely check email, such as shop-floor staff, volunteers, parents and teenagers.

Text messages are part of the paid plans in JingleBell. Groups of 10 or fewer use email only, which is free. Here is how the text option works and when it is worth using.

When does a text-message Secret Santa make sense?

Email is fine for an office. It is not fine when:

• half the group has no work email, like drivers, cleaners or warehouse staff
• the group is a club, a sports team or a class, and you only have everyone's number from a group chat
• you want to be sure the message is seen on the day of the draw, not buried under newsletters

If everyone reads email, keep it simple and use email. Mixed groups are fine too: each person chooses email or phone when they join.

How do you draw names by text, step by step?

1. Start your event at JingleBell. Pick a plan for your group size. Team or bigger unlocks text messages at once. A group that reaches 11 people gets them too.
2. Set the date and the gift budget. Your own contact as organiser is always an email address, so you need one.
3. Share the invite link in your group chat, by QR code or on a notice board.
4. Each person opens the link, types their name and either an email or a mobile number, and can add a short wishlist.
5. Keep pairs apart if you need to, for example couples or parents and children. You can also add people by hand.
6. Draw names. Everyone gets a private message with the name of the person they are buying for and a personal link.

Texts are only sent at the draw, and only after the event is paid for. Nobody gets a text while you are still collecting names.

What does it cost?

You pay once per event, when you draw names. No subscription.

People	NOK	SEK	DKK	EUR / USD
3–10	free	free	free	free
11–25	99 kr	99 kr	69 kr	9.99
26–50	149 kr	149 kr	99 kr	14.99
51–100	249 kr	249 kr	169 kr	24.99
101–200	399 kr	399 kr	279 kr	39.99

The price follows the bigger of the plan you chose and the number of people who joined. If you choose a plan for 11 or more and only 9 join, you still pay the price for the plan you chose.

Which countries work?

Text messages work in 14 countries. People living in other countries can join with an email address instead.

What if someone loses their text?

Everyone gets a personal link with their match. If a person loses it, they can ask for it again on the recover page with the invite code and their contact details. Recovery by text works in paid groups.

Personal links stop working 30 days after the event, so ask people to open theirs and note down the name.

Tips for a smooth text draw

• Say it in the invite. "Add your mobile number and you will get your name by text on the 1st."
• Ask for a wishlist. Three short ideas are enough, and it helps people who do not know their match well.
• Fix a budget before the draw. See how to organise a Secret Santa for a simple plan.
• Plan for late joiners. People added after the draw are slotted in automatically, up to the paid group size.

For bigger groups, see Secret Santa for large groups. If you only need a quick free draw, draw names online covers that.

Frequently asked questions

Can I run Secret Santa by SMS for free?

Not by text. Groups of 10 or fewer are free but use email only. Text messages need a Team plan or bigger, or a group of 11 or more.

Do people need an account or an app?

No. They open the invite link, type their name and email or number, and that is it. Nothing to install.

Can the organiser see who drew whom?

No. Nobody can see who drew whom, not even the organiser.

Can some people use email and others a phone number?

Yes. Each person chooses when they join.

When are the texts sent?

Only when you draw names, after the event is paid for.