Vaccines, masks, and boosters have brought back some sense of normalcy this holiday season. Some got to see their families for the first time in two years this Thanksgiving and were probably planning a similar gathering for the end-of-year festivities. But then omicron happened and there may be some who are not so sure about traveling or attending a crowded home anymore. If that’s you, at least know these new complications haven’t canceled gift-giving. Save yourself some time and headaches and take a look at our list of best Secret Santa platforms. Consider it our gift to you. That’s great if you don’t need more from a Secret Santa tool, but know that there’s not much more to it. You can’t make exclusions when drawing names—so your mother doesn’t get your dad, for example—and even though it allows you to create wish lists, the interface is so unfriendly that you can only do so through a link that’s emailed to you when you draw names. If you’re already on the platform managing the event, there’s no way to click your way to that same page. And even when you manage to create a wish list, you’ll realize the interface is just a list of URLs—there are no preview displays or other fields to elaborate on the item you’ve chosen. This platform isn’t associated with any store or vendor, so you can paste any URL into your wish list. You can also add interests or hobbies, or simply drop the name of a store you like without specifying a particular item. Result: 2 out of 5 🎁 If you’re including kids (or someone who doesn’t want to deal with learning another platform), you can start a wish list for them without having to create a separate account. The downside is that this sets you as that person’s contact, which means that when names are drawn, you’ll need to tell them who to give a gift to. To start, Elfster will require you to create an account, though it offers login alternatives using Google, Apple, or Facebook. Unlike the rest of the platforms on this list, name-drawing happens on a date you set when you create your event. But before people know who their Secret Santa is, anybody on the list can invite more people to join by sending them a link. Elfster is also the only platform here where you can opt out of your own event. That means if you’re feeling like a Grinch but are your family’s designated IT specialist, you can set everything up without having to partake in any gift-giving. Finally, if setting a budget is important to you, look elsewhere, as this is one of the few basic features it doesn’t have. Result: 3 out of 5 🎁 There are no wish lists, no invitations, no budgets, no passwords, and no secondary accounts: you give the platform a list of names, click on Pick names!, and you’re pretty much done. Other than the list of participants, there are only three variables you can control: how many gifts each person will receive, whether you are an all-knowing game master or just another player, and the exceptions for each person. Result: 4 out of 5 🎁 The first two are a dropdown menu and a checkbox, but the latter is trickier. Secret Santa Generator has a highly stripped-down interface, and you’ll need to type or paste the names of the players, one name per line, into a single HTML text box. You’ll need to add any exceptions after each name between curly brackets, separated by a comma—that is NAME, {exception1, exception2}. This can be a bit complicated, but if you make a mistake, the platform will tell you exactly what you did wrong and where it is so you can easily fix it. After you have the list of sorted names, you can add the participant’s email addresses so everyone gets a notification. If you’re acting as the master of ceremonies and want to do things old-school, you can also write down the names and let people know directly who they got. Result: 4 out of 5 🎁 Result: 5 out of 5 🎁
