Secret Santa for friends and family: how to organize it and offend nobody

It is a gift exchange inside a group: everyone secretly prepares a gift for one other person and stays anonymous until the gift is handed over. The organizer takes part like everyone else.

It is the same game with different names. “Secret Santa” is the common English name and “Secret Saint Nicholas” (Таємний Миколай) suits the Ukrainian December holidays. In Bazhanka the mode is called Secret Santa and the rules are the same.

Yes. Create a group in Bazhanka, invite members by email or by link and start the draw: playing is free. Members create an account, then buy and hand over the gifts themselves.

At least four, including the organizer. With fewer people the matches are too easy to guess.

No. Everyone, the organizer included, sees only the person they give to. Nobody sees the whole draw.

Before the start the person simply leaves the roster. After the draw Bazhanka repeats it automatically for the rest if at least three members remain. If only two are left, the game is canceled.

No. Joining closes once the game starts so the draw stays fair. Add everyone before you press start.

Yes. Before the game starts the organizer adds exclusions: two people who will never draw each other (spouses, siblings, a couple at work). Only the organizer sees them. If the exclusions leave no valid draw, Bazhanka says so.

Yes, if the children can choose a gift themselves and enjoy the game. For younger children it is simpler to keep ordinary gifts. Taking part needs an account, so agree which adult helps with signing up.

The giver stays secret, so sign it “From your Secret Santa” and do not reveal yourself even after the exchange.

Members agree on the handover themselves, outside Bazhanka: a gift can be sent by post or be a digital one. The app collects no addresses or phone numbers, and the budget can be set in hryvnias, euros or dollars.