Getting a Dirty Santa Ready
- 1
Name it and choose Dirty Santa
Picking Dirty Santa as the event type sets the group up to hand out a pick order rather than match everyone with a person to buy for.
- 2
Agree the price before anything else
One limit, shown to everyone on every page. A shared limit keeps the gifts at a similar value, so no single gift is the only one worth stealing.
- 3
Add everyone bringing a gift
Type the names or paste a list. The organizer can play or sit out, and the order includes only the participants.
- 4
Hand out the numbers
Each person opens a link of their own and finds the number they drew, and nothing about anyone else. Sending those by email is free.
What the App Decides and What the Group Decides
The app draws the pick order before the party. The group decides the house rules at the party.
It draws the pick order
Numbers from one to the size of the group are drawn at random, and each person is shown only the number they drew. No one writes numbers on paper, and the person who sets up the draw does not choose who goes first.
House rules are set by the group
How many times a gift can be stolen before it is frozen, whether a gift can be stolen back immediately, and whether number one gets the last swap are up to the group. The app does not enforce any of these rules, so agree on them before the first gift is opened.
Gifts people want
Dirty Santa gifts are usually things people want, unlike the gag gifts common at a White Elephant. The game depends on gifts being worth stealing. One spending limit shown on every page keeps the gifts at a similar value.
The list can change until the party
Add or remove someone and the order is drawn again, so the numbers always match the participants.
No accounts, no app, no passwords
Each person needs only a link. It opens in a browser with nothing to install, and anyone who loses their link can have it emailed again.
Dirty Santa Themes
The group can be shown in a theme instead of the standard red. Everyone sees it on the group pages, the invite page, the emails and the link preview. Gingerbread and Stocking suit a Dirty Santa party. Themes are a paid upgrade.
GingerbreadWarm brown, with a cookie jar
StockingEvergreen, with a Christmas stocking
Dirty Santa Questions
Yes. You can share one link instead of entering everyone yourself, and each person adds their own name and email address. You set how many can join and when the link closes, and you draw names when you are ready.
Everyone brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. Number one opens something from the pile. From there each person in turn either opens a new gift or steals one already opened, and whoever is stolen from goes again. Most groups cap a gift at three steals and then freeze it, and many let number one swap with anyone at the very end, since they never got a turn with the pile full. Agree on the rules before the game starts.
The same game with a different name. Dirty Santa is what it is called across much of the South, and the gifts are usually things people want, which makes stealing worth doing. A White Elephant often uses gag gifts. In both cases the app draws the order, and the group plays the game.
No. The generator draws the order, and the game is played in person. Live tracking of steal counts is not available.
It works with two or more people, and works best from about six, when enough gifts are open for stealing to matter. There is no upper limit. The largest exchange run on Secret Santa Hat is past two hundred and eighty people.
Across every exchange run here the median limit is a little under thirty dollars. Set the limit in the app so it shows on every page.
Yes. Unlimited groups and participants, the pick order, the guest list, the spending limit and email invites cost nothing and need no account. Text message and WhatsApp invites are an optional paid upgrade.