Because it's too big a sack for one man to carry.

December 14, 2004 7:13 AM

Elfster is a free web-based utility for automating Secret Santa gift exchanges. My office is Holiday-Cheer-Challenged this year, but after finding Elfster, things are looking up. There's nothing a tech company likes more than a new-fangled spin on a classic.
posted by FlamingBore (10 comments total)

Because pen, paper and hat is too hard?
posted by fungible at 7:35 AM on December 14, 2004

No, apparently because it's «Too big a sack for one man to carry.»
posted by Wolfdog at 7:41 AM on December 14, 2004

Too big a sack for one man to carry

I've heard that can happen from iodine deficiency.
posted by dhoyt at 8:04 AM on December 14, 2004

Because pen, paper and hat is too hard?

Because in an office with four people, we went five rounds with someone drawing their own name each time. This seems like a neat idea for very large companies too, ones where a hat is impractical.
posted by piskycritter at 8:40 AM on December 14, 2004

My company (15 people) is actually using Elfster this year and it's pretty "fun" (in a relative sense). Your Secret Santa can ask you questions anonymously through the interface, and he you can browse your Amazon WishList if you post one.
posted by dhoyt at 8:51 AM on December 14, 2004

This is all too convenient for my group of friends. With the distance between all of us, Elfster definitely makes it easier for everyone to get a name.
posted by GirlFriday at 8:54 AM on December 14, 2004

We just used this on MoFi and it worked like a charm. It's a brilliant idea.

(Hint for next year, mefites!)
posted by tracicle at 10:23 AM on December 14, 2004

Wish me and my friends had come across this a week earlier. We're currently in the throes of an e-mail bombing frenzy about who's buying what for whom after several of our automated Secret Santa program mailers were spam-blocked.

That'll teach us to geek out and come up with our own php match randomizer.
posted by riffraff at 6:30 PM on December 14, 2004

Does it work with wish lists? I'm running a secret santa ring at the moment for 8 people .. keeping track of the wish lists and which people have bought what to avoid duplicate gifts .. while keeping everyone anonymous .. is very complicated and time consuming.
posted by stbalbach at 9:49 PM on December 14, 2004

I could never get into the Secret Santa thing, especially when the secretary demands she keep a record of who's who. It kind of ruins the whole "secrecy" aspect of it.
posted by kartooner at 8:16 AM on December 15, 2004