One game buys for a person. The other game fights over a pile.
Start your drawFree. No sign-up. About 2 minutes.
One secret match. One gift for one named person.
No names. Gifts sit in a pile, stolen in the open.
Who gets the gift? Secret Santa: one named person. White elephant: whoever ends holding it.
How are names picked? Secret Santa: drawn in secret, one match each. White elephant: no names at all.
How do gifts move? Secret Santa: wrapped, labeled with their name only. White elephant: picked from a pile, then stolen in turns.
What stays secret? Secret Santa: who bought your gift, until the swap. White elephant: only what hides inside the wrap.
Where does it work? Secret Santa: any group, near or far. White elephant: one room, one pile, one crowd.
Pick Secret Santa when each gift should fit its person.
Pick Secret Santa when your group is spread out.
Pick white elephant when the stealing is the whole party.
Pick white elephant when gag gifts beat thoughtful ones.
This site runs Secret Santa only.
It draws one secret match per person, in your browser.
It does not run a white elephant pile.
If your group picks white elephant, you need no draw at all.
Just set one budget, wrap the gifts, and gather in one room.
Secret Santa at work: one draw for the whole team.
How much to spend on Secret Santa: the four budgets, compared.
White elephant vs Secret Santa: two games, one clear winner per group.
How Secret Santa works: the game in four steps.
How to run a Secret Santa: the organiser's short list.
Secret Santa rules: the classic rules, plus the enforced ones.
Secret Santa for large groups: one draw for up to 30 people.
What is the main difference?
Secret Santa buys one gift for one named person, in secret. White elephant puts wrapped gifts in a pile, and players pick and steal in the open.
Which game does this site run?
This site runs Secret Santa only. It draws one secret match per person. It does not run a white elephant pile or stealing rounds.
Which game suits a remote group?
Secret Santa. Each person gets a private link, so the draw works when the group never shares a room. White elephant needs everyone in one place, watching the pile.
Can a group play both?
Yes, on different days. Run the secret draw for real gifts first. Save the pile game for the party itself.