It is Kris Kringle here, Secret Santa most other places, and the same thing
either way: everyone draws one name, everyone buys one present, nobody buys
seven. The tools that run it are mostly free and mostly interchangeable — up
to the point where they aren’t.

We make one of them. Here is what actually separates them.

The five things worth checking

1. Exclusions that work. “Mum and Dad shouldn’t draw each other.” “Not
the same pairing as last year.” A generator that only randomises will
eventually hand you a draw the family quietly redoes by hand, which defeats
the point. Check it supports rules, and check what it does when the rules
make a draw impossible — the good ones tell you which rule to relax rather
than failing silently.

2. Nobody can see the full list — including the organiser. In a lot of
tools the person who set it up can see who drew whom. If the organiser is
also playing, they have just spoiled their own Christmas and possibly
everyone else’s.

3. Wish lists attached to the draw. The draw solves “who buys for whom”.
It does not solve “what on earth do I get them”. A tool that carries a list
alongside the name is doing the second half.

4. What it asks of the group. Fourteen colleagues will not all create
accounts. Look for something where the organiser signs up and everyone else
can take part with a link.

5. What happens on Boxing Day. Most Kris Kringle tools are done when the
names go out. If your family also buys for kids, partners and grandparents —
who are not in the draw — that coordination is happening somewhere else.

The Australian specifics

  • Kris Kringle, not Secret Santa, in half the invitations you send. A
    tool that only says Secret Santa is fine; it just reads foreign.
  • Prices in AUD, GST included. Anything charging in USD is a currency
    conversion and a surprise on the statement.
  • December is summer. The “cosy winter gift guide” content most platforms
    publish is written for the wrong hemisphere, which tells you who they built
    for.
  • The date shape is different. School finishes mid-December, work
    breaks up earlier, and a lot of families do the whole thing before people
    scatter to the coast.

What GiftGambit does

The draw supports exclusions, a budget, and a memory of previous years so the
same two people don’t get each other three Decembers running. Nobody sees the
full list — not even the organiser. Each person gets their name privately,
with that person’s wish list attached.

There is a private chat about each recipient that the recipient cannot see,
for the “should we go in together on this?” conversation that currently
happens in a splinter group chat somebody eventually adds the wrong person
to.

And when the draw is done, the rest of the year is still there: birthdays,
lists for the people not in the draw, and private gift ideas for anyone at
all — including people with no account who never find out.

Free covers a full cycle: a circle of up to 15, draws with exclusions,
claiming, and thank-yous. Pro is $29 a year, GST included, and unlocks the
extras for everyone in your circles.

If you only want the draw

Use a free generator. DrawNames is good, it needs no accounts, and it will
take four minutes.

Come back when the group chat starts filling up with screenshots again.

Start free, or read
how to run a draw and
the etiquette of Kris Kringle rules.

Originally published on the GiftGambit blog.