Fun ways to reveal Secret Santa assignments instead of just sending an email
By the Secret Santa Hotline team · Updated November 8, 2026 · Facts checked November 8, 2026 · How we check our guides
A fun way to reveal Secret Santa assignments instead of just sending an email is to make the reveal a small moment of its own: a phone call where Santa tells each person who they're buying for, names hidden in fortune cookies or ornaments, or a puzzle that spells out a name. Whatever you choose, keep one rule: each person learns only their own match, and ideally the organizer doesn't learn them either.
Below are creative ways to draw names for Secret Santa and reveal them: ideas for office parties, family gatherings and remote groups, with how to keep each one secret and what can go wrong.
The one rule for any Secret Santa reveal
A fun reveal still has to be a secret one. Before you pick an idea, check three things:
- Who prepares it? If one person writes every name into a cookie or a card, that person knows every pair. Ask someone who isn't playing to prepare it, or choose a reveal where the draw happens on the spot.
- What if someone gets their own name? Random picks at a party can land on yourself, and two people can end up drawing each other. Decide the fix in advance: a quiet swap with a spare, or a redraw for just that person.
- Can anyone see someone else's name? Hand out sealed items, and let people open them privately or all at the same moment.
Idea 1: A call from Santa
Ho ho ho! With Secret Santa Hotline, the reveal is a phone call:
- The organizer adds first names and emails, plus an optional budget and exchange day.
- Santa draws the names in one loop, so nobody gets themselves and nobody just swaps.
- Everyone gets their own code by email.
- Each person calls Santa's line and tells him what they'd love.
- Santa tells them who they're buying for, along with that person's wishes.
The code still arrives by email, but the reveal is the call, and nobody sees the pairs, not even the organizer. Everyone gets their own moment, and the wishes come with the match, so nobody has to chase a wish list.
To be clear about what it is: Santa is an AI voice, not a real person. Calls aren't recorded, and the group is deleted 14 days after the exchange. It's a regular call to a US number, and it's for ages 13 and up, so it suits offices, friend groups and families of teens and adults rather than young children. It's one price for the whole group. If that sounds like your group, you can set one up at https://secret.santawishes.app
Idea 2: Fortune cookie draw
Write each name on a small strip of paper and tuck one into each fortune cookie, homemade or store-bought. Put the cookies on a tray and let everyone take one and crack it open.
- Best for: an in-person kickoff at the office or a family dinner.
- Why it stays secret: once the cookies are mixed up, nobody, including the organizer, knows which one holds which name.
- Watch out for: self-draws. Keep a few empty cookies on hand: anyone who gets their own name tucks the slip into an empty one, puts it back on the tray and picks again.
- Variations: Christmas crackers with the name tucked in beside the paper hat, or names tied to candy canes in a jar.
Idea 3: Ornament or snowball hunt
Roll each name into a clear fillable ornament, a paper snowball or a small wrapped box, and hide them around the room. Each person finds one, reads the name privately, and hides it again if it's their own.
- Best for: families with energy to burn, or a team that likes a game.
- Watch out for: the same self-draw and swap risks as any random pick, and someone peeking at a name that was hidden again.
Idea 4: A puzzle with the name inside
Make a personalized word search, crossword or riddle for each person, with their match's name as the answer. Elfster's name-picker guide suggests personalized word searches and a trivia night draw, alongside fortune cookies and a holiday egg hunt.
- Best for: small groups who love games. Making one puzzle per person takes time.
- Watch out for: whoever builds the puzzles knows every pair, so have someone who isn't playing make them from a single-loop draw.
Idea 5: Scratch-off cards or sealed envelopes
Write each match on a card, cover the name with a scratch-off sticker or seal it in an envelope with the giver's name on the front, and hand them all out at once. Everyone scratches or opens at the same moment.
- Best for: a party, or cards left on desks the same morning.
- Watch out for: again, whoever makes the cards knows the pairs. Pick a non-player, and build the pairs as one loop so nobody draws themselves or swaps.
Idea 6: Open together on a video call
For remote and hybrid groups, use a tool that gives each person a private link, send the links by text or a messaging app instead of email, and have everyone open theirs at the same moment on a call. DrawNames, for example, says you can send invitations by email, text message, Facebook Messenger or other apps. People react on camera without showing the name, and the guessing starts right away.
Quick comparison
| Idea | Best for | Prep | Who knows the pairs | Self-draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call from Santa | Offices, friends, families with everyone 13 or older | Add names and emails | Nobody, not even the organizer | None: one loop |
| Fortune cookies | In-person parties | Low | Nobody, once they're mixed | Possible: keep spares |
| Ornament hunt | Families, playful teams | Low | Nobody, once they're hidden | Possible |
| Personal puzzles | Small groups who love games | High | Whoever makes them | None, if made from one loop |
| Scratch-off cards | Parties, desks | Medium | Whoever makes them | None, if made from one loop |
| Video call opening | Remote and hybrid teams | Low | Depends on the tool | Depends on the tool |
Keep the fun going: Secret Santa reveal ideas for gift day
The reveal of who's buying for whom is only the start. A few ways to keep the mystery alive:
- Let people ask questions anonymously. Some tools build this in: DrawNames lists asking your giftee questions anonymously among its features. On the Santa call, people tell Santa what they'd love, so their giver hears it with the match.
- Plan the final reveal. Have everyone guess who their Secret Santa is before the giver steps forward, and give a small prize to the first correct guess.
- Leave clues. Givers can drop one hint a day in the week before the exchange, getting more specific each time.
Whichever idea you choose, the best reveals share two things: everyone gets a moment of surprise, and nobody, not even the organizer, gives the game away. For the basics of running the draw itself, see our guide: https://secret.santawishes.app/guides/secret-santa-draw-names-online
Questions people ask
What's a fun way to reveal Secret Santa assignments instead of just sending an email?
Make the reveal its own moment: a call where Santa tells each person who they're buying for, names hidden in fortune cookies or ornaments, a personal puzzle that spells out the name, or everyone opening a private link at the same moment on a video call. Whatever you pick, make sure each person learns only their own match.
How can I reveal Secret Santa names without the organizer knowing the pairs?
Use a reveal where the draw happens on the spot, like fortune cookies picked from a tray, ask someone who isn't playing to prepare the cards, or use Secret Santa Hotline, where Santa draws the names in one loop and nobody sees the pairs, not even the organizer.
What if someone draws their own name during a fun reveal?
Decide the fix before you start. Keep a few spare cookies or envelopes for a quiet swap, or let just that person redraw. To rule it out, build the pairs as one loop, where everyone buys for the next person and the last buys for the first.
How do remote teams reveal Secret Santa assignments?
Send each person a private link by text or a messaging app and have everyone open it at the same moment on a video call, or, for a US-based team, use a phone reveal like Secret Santa Hotline, where everyone calls Santa's line with their own code.
Is the Secret Santa Hotline call for kids?
No. It's for ages 13 and up, so it suits offices, friend groups and families of teens and adults. For a group with young children, fortune cookies or an ornament hunt work well.
Is the Santa on the call a real person, and are calls recorded?
Santa is an AI voice, not a real person. Calls aren't recorded, and the group is deleted 14 days after the exchange.
Sources
- Secret Santa Hotline: Santa tells everyone who they're buying for secret.santawishes.app
- Secret Santa Name Picker: How to Draw Names (Elfster) elfster.com
- How to draw names online? (drawnames) drawnames.com