How do I organise a 'Secret Santa'?

[firetracie]

I've been asked to organise a 'Secret Santa' for our department.

For the life of me I can't figure out how to organise it to ensure no-one picks their own name!

If I go to each individual and hold back their name each time, I'll have to check that each persons name isn't in there every time someone picks. So i'm going to end up knowing who picks what. And what if the only one not picked at the end is mine and I have to buy my own present! That'd be no fun at all. lol

There's only 6 of us so there's a resonable chance that someone could pick themselves. HELP!

[hippyhoppy]

Put all the names in a hat, and if you happen to pick yourself then pick again and then put your own name back.. that's what we do and it seems to work.... have fun!!

[4getmenot]

Just ask everyone to buy a present that could be both for genders and then put them all in big bag to be picked out

[4getmenot]

One year we all picked a name and girl who had mine forgot who she'd picked and I didnt get a present :-(

[funnygirl]

First off, agree a price limit, there is nothing worst than spening �20 on a gift and you've got one that worth a fiver.

The best way is you put names in and anyone who gets their own, just picks again.

Or
The way we do it, is that we write down what we want and it goes into the hat and the person picking has to buy just that.

[eash]

I used to organise our Secret Santa where I used to work. What I did is I typed people's names up printed them out and cut each name the same size and folded it exactly the same. I then put all names in a hat (container etc) except mine and chose my "name" first. That way I didn't pick myself. I then put my name back in and went round to everyone and got them to pick theirs. The paper with the names on then became the tag for the present so no one can guess by handwriting. On the day the presents are exchanged put a black bag in a corner somewhere so people can put them in there discreetly.
I went overboard once and bought the same wrapping paper for everyone!
We also had a budget of �10 no more no less.
One year someone obviously bought a present for �9.99 as he taped the 1p to the present!

[saxy_jag]

With hippyhoppy - if someone draws out their own name, they just put it back again and redraw.

We set a fiver limit on ours. Others stipulate such rules as you can only buy from a pound shop, or that you have to buy something completely useless/silly/trivial.

[bednobs]

i do ours. i mark off when people have picked (not who they have picked) then when it comes to the last 2 names, i check them to make sure the name (s) dont belong to the the last 2 people left. If for example dick and jane have yet to pick, and the last two names are dick and jane, i would take jane out, then get jane to pick. this way i only know who 2 people have