Guides for the organiser.
Written for the person who gets handed the Secret Santa. Budgets in pesos and dollars, the rules Filipino offices actually use, what to do when someone drops out, and how to get forty people drawn without a spreadsheet.
Offices
Running an office Secret Santa for 40 people
Past about fifteen people a spreadsheet stops working. Here is what breaks at forty, and the order to do things in so it doesn't.
7 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Philippines
Monito Monita: the rules Filipino offices actually use
The weekly themes, the budget tiers, the Friday reveal. What the tradition looks like in practice and how to run it without a committee.
6 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Money
Picking a Secret Santa budget nobody resents
The number is less important than how you say it. A guide to the figures that work in pesos and dollars, and the three mistakes that make a budget feel unfair.
5 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Rules
Exclusion rules without the drama
Couples, siblings, bosses and the person who just had a falling out. Which pairs to keep apart, how to add rules without announcing them, and when rules make a draw impossible.
5 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Problems
Someone dropped out after the draw
The one problem every organiser gets. What to do depending on when it happens, and why a full redraw is almost always the wrong answer.
5 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Remote
A remote team exchange across time zones
Shipping, currencies, and a reveal that works on a video call. What changes when the team is in Manila, Austin and Berlin at once.
6 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Planning
The organiser's December timeline
Work back from the party. The dates that matter, the two reminders that are enough, and the week you should say nothing at all.
5 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Wishlists
Wishlist etiquette: how to ask without asking
What to put on a wishlist so your Santa can actually use it, what not to put on it, and how to write for a stranger.
4 min read · 1 Nov 2026
Gifts
Gift ideas under ₱500 and under $20
For the Santa who drew someone they barely know. Gifts that read as chosen, grouped by what you do know about the person.
5 min read · 1 Nov 2026