Secret Santa Party Mini App

The office, your friends or your family decided to swap gifts, and now the tedious part starts: slips of paper in a hat, arguments over who gets whom, and always someone drawing their own name. Secret Santa Party runs the draw for you right in Telegram.

The idea is simple: you join a party, and the mini app randomly assigns each person someone to buy a gift for.

A draw without the hat and paper

The app's name says it all. The Secret Santa picks out a present for a random participant, and the recipient never learns who the giver is until the reveal.

The bot's description says it helps randomly assign Secret Santas, and that you can join parties. It all happens in a mini app window, with nothing to install. 🎅

Running an exchange

1. Create or find a party. An exchange needs a shared room where participants gather.
2. Invite people. Everyone has to join the party themselves so that their name enters the draw.
3. Start the assignment. The app randomly makes pairs, and nobody knows who gives to whom.
4. Prepare a gift. Only the person who got a pair can see it.

Check the app for the exact order of buttons, since it may differ from this description.

Rules worth agreeing on early 🎁

The most common fights in a gift exchange come from vague terms. Settle them in the chat before the draw:

• Budget. Name one amount or a range, so one person does not give a keychain and another a phone.
• Date. When the exchange happens and where gifts are handed over.
• Wishes. Ask everyone to post two or three ideas in the shared chat, so no one has to guess.
• Limits. For example, no alcohol or no joke gifts.

What to do when you draw a near stranger

In a team you may pull someone you barely know. That is normal, and it is half the point of the game.

Ask mutual friends what the person likes, look at their public profiles and pick a safe option: a book, coffee, good tea, a nice little desk item. Add a note, which brings warmth. ✉️

When the draw does not go to plan

People sometimes drop out: they get sick, travel or change their mind. It is better to decide in advance what to do than to sort it out three days before the holiday.

• Late joiner. Offer to redo the assignment while no gifts have been bought yet.
• Someone drops out. The organizer can take over their pair or hand it to someone else.
• Secrecy. Do not show the app screen to colleagues, since that reveals the giver.

Safety and money 🔒

A draw does not need your payment details. If the app asks you to connect a card or wallet to "take part in the party", stop.

Do not post delivery addresses in the shared chat. Give them only to the person who drew you, and only if the gift is shipped.

Who it is for

Groups of friends, office departments, families at New Year or a birthday. The draw saves money: each person buys one gift instead of ten.

You can play outside winter too, since the same principle suits any holiday. 🎄