help! how do i organise "secret santa" via emails?

Question

i've a group of friends that don't meet very regularly.

i'm getting everyone together for a lunch just before christmas, and would love to organise a "secret santa", where we each buy a present for someone in the group - to surprise them.

Trouble is, i don't know how i can do this via email, so as to get everyone secretly matched up before our lunch?

Any bright ideas?

Answer 1

well you could get randomly assign each person someone else to buy for but you wouldnt be able to participate!

Answer 2

Clever and interesting maybe. An economist would call this a form of arbitrage where you make two "bets" one or both of which are losing bets but overall they are profitable. Example is to simultaneously buy and sell stocks or bonds depending on the "spread" it may guarantee a profit. Such opportunities for arbitrage are usually the result of very short term fluctuations in the market and are quickly "closed" as the market adjusts. (In other words, true arbitrage opportunities can not exist in a free and efficient market. But real markets aren't 100% efficient... but I digress a little) That's why I find the joke interesting. Could such arbitrage opportunities exist in the real world? Maybe. But probably not. Or else they would occur all the time. It's one thing for a guy to bet another guy $5 something dumb like "he'll get her phone number within 24 hours" (or "a date") or something like that, but no man would take such a bet for a very large sum of money! That's "man 101." Like, if your buddy said "I'll bet you $500,000 I'll make your boss eat an earthworm within 24 hours"... well any intelligent man would know not to take such a bet because he could simply pay the person to perform whatever unlikely task was being bet on!

Answer 3

First e-mail them to make sure they agree.
Write a list of the names and then do a draw from a hat of the names to see who is buying for who. You will tell them who they are buying for individually.
The only drawback is that you know who is buying your gift... I guess you could get someone you live with to do the draw and e-mail the names if you don't want to know who is buying your secret gift.

Anyway I hope this works. Have a great Christmas.

Answer 4

Hi Godfather.... here's an offer you CAN'T refuse... ;)

Sites such as Secret-Gift.com, SecretSanta.com and Elfster provide a modern twist allowing organizers and participants to manage the draw, wishlists and exchange on line. SecretSanta.com does the draw electronically so even the organizer does not know who their Secret Santa is.

Should sort you out!