How to set it up.
- Start a room and send the invite link to the group chat with a budget, a ready-by date, and a gift date that leaves time for shipping.
- Everyone joins from any phone or computer, with no account or email. Each person adds a wishlist, picks a skip if they need one, and presses I'm ready.
- Once the last person is ready, you start the draw. Anyone who wasn't online sees their name the next time they open the room.
- Each person orders from their match's wishlist and ships it straight to them.
Time zones.
Nobody has to be online at the same time. People join and ready up whenever it suits them, and the draw waits for the last one. Give a ready-by date in the invite so one slow relative doesn't hold up everyone else. If you want the names drawn live, get everyone ready ahead of time and start the draw on a call. Each name arrives on its own screen at the same moment.
Shipping without the last-minute panic.
- Work back from the gift date. Within one country, order at least a week before. Across borders, allow three weeks or more.
- Beat the December rush. Aim to order by the second week of December. Carriers publish their holiday cutoffs each fall, so check them before you count on a date.
- Ship straight from the store. Order from your match's wishlist and send it to their address. There's no wrapping or post office, and it arrives sooner.
- Keep addresses private. Picknames never asks for one. Ask your match directly, or have the organizer pass addresses along.
- Mark it as a gift. Most stores can leave the price off the packing slip and add a message so they know it's from their Santa.
- Running late? A gift card, a subscription or a digital download still arrives on time. Send a note to open on the day.
The reveal on a video call.
- Pick a time that works everywhere. A weekend afternoon often covers most time zones.
- Keep gifts wrapped. Ask everyone to leave their gift unopened until the call.
- Open one at a time. Go around the screen, and let each person guess who their Santa was before it's revealed.
Doing it with relatives? See family Secret Santa. With a remote team? See office Secret Santa. Stuck on what to send? Our gift ideas include picks for someone far away.
Long-distance questions.
Does everyone need to be online at the same time?
No. Each person joins and readies up whenever they can. When everyone is ready the leader starts the draw, and anyone who wasn't there sees their name the next time they open the room.
How do people see their result later?
On the same phone or computer, the room is listed under Rejoin. On a different device, use the rejoin code from the room menu.
How do we handle shipping?
Picknames doesn't ask for addresses. Everyone can attach a wishlist in the room, so the person who draws them can order from it. Ask your match for their address, or ship to them through the store.
We're in different time zones. When should we draw?
Whenever the last person readies up. Pick a ready-by date in the invite, and add a week or two before the gift date for shipping.
Can we still do a live reveal on a video call?
Yes. Get everyone ready ahead of time, then start the draw on the call. Each person's name shows up on their own screen at the same moment.
Does anyone need an account or email?
No. Everyone joins with a link or a four-letter code.