Secret Santa

For the episode of The Office, see Secret Santa (The Office). For the episode of 30 Rock, see Secret Santa (30 Rock).

Secret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition, in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a gift. Often practiced in workplaces, or amongst large families, historians trace its origin to the Del Rey family of Miami who have continued this tradition passed down from generations. It offers a way for many people to give and receive a gift at low cost to those involved.

History

Deriving from the Christkindl tradition, the ritual is known as Secret Santa in the United States, Canada, Great Britain; Kris Kringle or Chris Kindle (Christkindl) in the Republic of Ireland and as either Secret Santa or Kris Kringle in Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. All of these names derive from traditional Christmas gift-bringers: the US version is named after Santa Claus while Chris Kindle and Kris Kringle are corruptions of the original name of the German gift-bringer Christkindl, which means the 'Christ Child', (in Britain the traditional gift-bringer is Father Christmas). The term Secret Santa can refer to the practice itself, or any of the people participating. In Germany and Austria this tradition is called Wichteln. In Portuguese, it is called amigo secreto or amigo oculto (Secret Friend), while in Spanish it is called amigo invisible (Invisible Friend) in Spain and amigo secreto in most places of Latin America. Another term used specifically in southeastern Pennsylvania of the U.S. is Pollyanna.

Description

There are various traditions and ways in which a "Secret Santa" is run. In some variations, as Christmas approaches, names of participants are placed in a hat, and participants draw the name of a person for whom to buy a gift. Along with name submission, each participant may also submit a short wish-list of items from which the gift-giver can choose. There is often a limit to how much can be spent on the present. Presents are then sometimes exchanged anonymously. Many schools and offices do this at Christmas time, often as a cost-saving effort. It usually takes place prior to Christmas because the office and school settings require it. Sometimes people leave hints in cards on desks, others create other special ways to make themselves known.

Often, the gift-getting is practiced with all the presents being placed on a table, marked with the name of the receiver but not the giver. Sometimes the gift-giver will personally give the recipient the present, thereby revealing their identity. Some groups may choose to donate the money they saved on presents to charity.

Variations

Thieving Secret Santa

Main article: White elephant gift exchange

In this version, participants (players) bring one gift each which is potentially suitable or interesting to any of the other participants. The gifts should be wrapped in such a way as to disguise their nature. Ideally, the provider of each gift should not be disclosed when setting up the game. Players take turns, and can either open a new gift, or steal a previously opened gift. This game is also known as the white elephant gift exchange, Yankee Swap, Dirty Santa, Devil's Santa, Nasty Christmas, Snatchy Christmas Rat or the Grinch game.

Secret Casino Santa

In this version, each person buys a gift for specific amount, not for anyone specifically. Each person also puts in a specific amount of money into a pot. Who goes first in gift selection can be determined by random selection. The options are:

Option A: Choose a gift
Option B: Do not choose a gift, and go for money.
Option C: Put your name in to win all the unwanted gifts by those who went for Option B.

At the end, the gifts that were chosen are opened and the winner of the money and leftover gifts are drawn.

See also

• Derangement - Calculating the number of possible outcomes