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Getting a White Elephant Organized
- 1
Name the exchange
Give it a name and pick White Elephant as the event type, which sets it up to draw a running order instead of matching people with recipients.
- 2
Set the spending limit
The one rule every White Elephant needs. It shows on every participant page, so nobody has to ask what the budget was.
- 3
Add everyone
Type names or paste a list you already have. Add email addresses for anyone you have them for.
- 4
Send everyone their number
Each person gets their own link showing the turn they drew, along with the date and the spending limit. Email invites are free.
Built for the Part of White Elephant That Is Actually Work
The stealing is the fun part. Everything around it - the order, the list, the budget - is what makes organizers give up and fall back to a group chat.
One spending limit, visible to everyone
Set it once and it appears on every participant page, so nobody has to ask what the budget was or work it out from what someone else brought.
A guest list you can actually manage
Add people as they say yes, remove them when plans change, and paste a whole list at once instead of typing one name at a time.
A running order, drawn at random
Everyone gets a number from one to however many of you there are, and each person sees only their own. No paper slips, no arguing about who goes first.
Or draw names instead, if that is how you play
Plenty of groups run White Elephant with assigned recipients rather than a free-for-all. Choose that instead and the generator matches everyone, including rules like partners not drawing each other.
Free invites by email
Send everyone the date, the limit and their own link at no cost. Text message and WhatsApp are an optional paid upgrade.
White Elephant Questions
Everyone brings one wrapped gift, and Secret Santa Hat draws the order you pick in. Each person opens their own link and sees just their own number, so nobody has to hand round a phone or pull numbers out of a bowl. If your group plays the other way and assigns recipients instead, you can choose that at setup and it will match everyone up.
Across all the exchanges run on Secret Santa Hat the median spending limit is a little under thirty dollars. Whatever you settle on, set it in the app so it appears on every participant page rather than living in one person memory.
Any number works. White Elephant is usually more fun from about six people upward, because there are enough gifts in play for stealing to actually matter.
Yes. Unlimited groups and participants, the guest list, the spending limit, wishlists and email invites all cost nothing and need no account.