Secret Santa for large groups – how to run it for 50 to 200 people

A Secret Santa for a whole company, school or club is a lovely thing, but it is a lot of people to keep track of. Here is a plan that keeps a big group simple, fair and secret.

Start five to six weeks out

Big groups need more time than a family exchange. A rough timeline:

• Week 1: Announce it and open sign-ups.
• Week 3: Close sign-ups and draw names.
• Weeks 3 to 5: Everyone shops.
• Week 6: Hand out the gifts.

Leave at least two weeks between the draw and the exchange.

One link instead of a spreadsheet

Don't collect names by hand. Share one invite link where people sign themselves up. Put it in the staff newsletter, the parents' group chat, Teams, Slack or on a poster with a QR code.

Each person adds their name, an email or mobile number and, if they like, a short wishlist. Nobody types in 150 email addresses, and nobody's details sit in a shared document.

If a few people are not online much, add them yourself.

Email or text?

Ask people to choose what they actually check. Office staff usually see email first. Parents, volunteers and people who work on the shop floor or in a warehouse often see a text sooner. Letting each person pick means fewer "I never got my name" messages later.

Keep the right people apart

In a big group, a few pairs are better kept apart:

• Couples who are both taking part
• Parents and their own children in a school or club
• Close friends who swap gifts anyway

Agree on these before the draw. Some groups also prefer people to buy for someone outside their own team. That works best when you mark only the pairs that matter, not whole departments, so the draw still has room to work.

Set one clear budget

A fixed amount keeps things fair and stops anyone feeling awkward. For a large group, keep it modest, for example €10–15 or 100–150 kr, so everyone can join without thinking twice. Put the budget in the invitation, along with the date and how gifts will be handed out.

Need inspiration to share with the group? Point them to our Secret Santa gift ideas.

Plan for late joiners

With 100 people, someone will almost always join late: a new starter, a parent who missed the message, a volunteer who was away. You should not have to draw everyone again. Pick a tool that slots late joiners in after the draw without a full redraw.

Handing out 100 gifts

This is the part that needs real planning.

• Label everything. Ask givers to write the recipient's full name and team, class or group on the gift. "Anna" is not enough when there are three.
• Add a hint to the wishlist. Ask people to put their team, class or office location in their wishlist so givers know where the gift should end up.
• Use drop-off points. One box per floor, team or class works better than one huge pile.
• Split the exchange. Teams or classes can open gifts at the same time in their own room, instead of 150 people in one hall.
• Have a few spare gifts. Someone will forget or be ill. A small stash means nobody leaves empty-handed.

Keep it fair and secret

In a big group, people want to know the draw is fair. If the organiser can see the full list, someone will wonder. Use a draw where each person gets their own private message and nobody, including the organiser, can see who drew whom. Then the organiser can join in on equal terms.

Also have a plan for lost messages. People should be able to get their link again without going through you.

How JingleBell handles a big group

JingleBell works for groups of up to 200. You start an event, share one invite link, and people join with their name and email or mobile number, plus an optional wishlist. Text messages work in 14 countries. You can keep pairs apart and add or remove people yourself. When you press "Draw names", everyone gets a private message with their match, and nobody, not even you, can see who drew whom.

People who join after the draw are slotted in automatically, up to the group size you paid for. Anyone who loses their link can get it resent with the invite code and their email or phone.

It is free for up to 10 people. Bigger groups pay once per event, with no subscription: 14.99 for 26–50 people, 24.99 for 51–100 and 39.99 for 101–200 (in euros or dollars). In Norway and Sweden it is 149 kr, 249 kr and 399 kr, and in Denmark 99 kr, 169 kr and 279 kr.

Quick checklist

• Sign-up link shared, with a clear deadline
• Budget, date and hand-out plan in the invitation
• Couples and parents with children kept apart
• Names drawn privately
• Gifts labelled with full name and team or class
• A few spare gifts ready

For more on running it in an office, see Secret Santa at work.