Secret Santa Printables

Start with the questionnaire

A name on a slip of paper is not enough information to buy for someone. The questionnaire is the sheet that fixes the usual problem, which is that half the group gets something thoughtful and half gets a novelty mug. Six to twelve questions, filled in on paper, collected, then handed out with the names.

Paper beats a shared spreadsheet for this. People answer a form in front of them and ignore a link, and a folded sheet does not accidentally reveal who has whom.

Running the draw on paper

The draw slips page prints names on identical slips, with an optional fold line and a second slip for recording who drew whom, so an organiser can fix a redraw without starting again. If you are drawing by hand, the one rule worth enforcing is that anybody who pulls their own name puts it back and the whole hat gets redrawn, not just that one slip.

For a remote team, the organiser can draw alone and write names onto the slips before scanning or posting them, which keeps one person informed and everybody else surprised.

Set the rules before the names go in the hat

Nearly every Secret Santa argument comes from an unstated rule: the budget, whether home-made counts, whether the gift is opened in front of everyone, whether you can tell someone what you got them. The rules sheets cover work, family, classroom and tight-budget situations separately, because what is sensible in an office is not sensible in a class of nine year olds.

If you would rather play white elephant

White elephant, Yankee swap and dirty Santa are the same family of game, and they work differently to Secret Santa: one pile of anonymous gifts, numbered turns, and the option to steal. There is a separate section for it with a printable rules sheet and numbered turn cards.

Questions

What do I actually need to run a Secret Santa?

A sign-up sheet to collect names, draw slips for the names themselves, a questionnaire so people know what to buy, and an agreed budget written down. All four print free from this section.

What should the budget be?

Most workplace exchanges land between ten and twenty-five pounds or dollars. The number matters less than stating it clearly and stating whether it is a limit or a target, which is what the rules sheets make you do.

How do I stop someone drawing their own name?

If anyone pulls their own name, put every slip back and redraw the whole hat. Swapping a single slip quietly tells at least two people something they should not know.

Is Secret Santa the same as white elephant?

No. In Secret Santa each person buys for one named person. In white elephant everyone brings one anonymous gift to a pile and turns are taken to open or steal. There is a separate white elephant section with its own rules sheet.