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Step 1
Decide on the duration and frequency of your Secret Santa event. For example, you might want to have your Secret Santa last one work week, and have each Santa give his recipient a gift every day. Or you might do it for an entire month with a weekly gift. There is no right or wrong; simply decide what will work best at your office.
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Step 2
Determine a dollar amount for gifts. If you will be doing several gifts over a period of time, a $5 maximum might be best. Encourage participants to come up with free or homemade gift ideas so that it is not a hardship on anyone.
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Step 3
Collect a list of the names of all staff members who want to participate in the Secret Santa exchange. Have people draw names out of a hat, or use a free online service to pick the names for you. (Bonus: These services will also keep track of who has whose name.)
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Step 4
Make all participants aware of who they are responsible for giving secret gifts to. Encourage them to keep up on the gift-giving and not give their secret away. Try to stay aware of who is and who is not receiving gifts, and talk to Secret Santas who might be forgetting to bring in gifts.
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Step 5
Organize a potluck lunch at the end of the Secret Santa exchange. Have everyone bring one final gift (make it a white elephant for even more fun). As each recipient opens her final gift, ask her to guess who her Secret Santa is, and then have the Santa reveal her true identity.
