The base plan is free: up to 3 Christmas groups, 10 gifts per wishlist and 2 Secret Santa draws. A paid plan will lift those limits.

How does the Secret Santa work?

Create your event, add the participants and set the exclusions (couples, families). Givenly runs the draw automatically and emails each person their result confidentially.

Do my family and friends need an account?

For a Secret Santa, no: only the organiser creates an account, and each participant receives their draw by email. For a Christmas group (wishlists, reservations, group gifts), yes: everyone creates an account in a few seconds to manage their wishlist and see which gifts are already taken.

Can I use Givenly for something other than Christmas?

Absolutely! Givenly works perfectly for birthdays, weddings, baby showers or any gift exchange event.

How does co-funding work?

When a gift is too expensive for one person, several members can put their name down as co-funders. Givenly shows who is taking part — settling up then happens between you, outside the app.

What are the limits of the base plan?

Up to 3 Christmas groups, 10 gifts per wishlist and 2 Secret Santa draws — enough for most families. A paid plan will lift those limits for heavier use.

Long-Distance Christmas Gift Exchange Guide

London, Paris, New York, Sydney, Toronto… Today’s families are rarely in the same place. And when December comes around, the same question returns: how do you exchange gifts when hundreds, or thousands, of miles separate you?

Distance doesn’t stop gifts or shared moments. It just means starting earlier. This year, Christmas falls on a Friday (25 December 2026), with Christmas Eve on the Thursday. Here’s how to run the exchange, from the draw to opening presents on a video call.

How Do You Organize a Long-Distance Christmas Gift Exchange?

Bring the whole family into one online space, pick a simple format (Secret Santa or shared wishlists), and agree on a budget and a shipping deadline. Then have each gift delivered straight to its recipient. On the day, open presents together on a video call, at a time that works across every time zone.

Distance even has its upsides. The surprise is total: nobody stumbles on their gift in a cupboard. And everyone takes part, including the cousin abroad or the grandparents who no longer travel. You just need to plan ahead, with the right tools.

Bring Everyone Together Online

The first step is to create a shared space where everyone can take part, wherever they live.

Forget the WhatsApp Group

We’ve all been there: the group overflowing with messages, the gift photo sent to the wrong chat, conversations going in every direction. It’s chaotic and, above all, not confidential.

Use a Dedicated Tool

On Givenly, you create a Christmas space for the family: a name, the date of the celebration if you have it, and your relatives’ emails. Everyone gets an email invitation and creates an account in a few seconds, whether they live in Leeds or Toronto. Wishlists and who’s chipping in on which gift all sit in one place, reachable from anywhere.

The surprise stays safe: on their own list, nobody can see who’s chipping in or what’s already taken.

From far away, you can’t guess what someone would like by watching them in a shop. The wishlist becomes essential.

How to Write a Good Long-Distance Wishlist

An effective list includes:

5 to 10 ideas — Enough to give people a choice, not so many that it overwhelms. Givenly’s free plan allows ten gifts per list.
A range of prices — From a small £10 treat to an £80 dream gift.
Direct links — The product page, so nobody has to go searching.
Shops that deliver to you — Living abroad? Link to shops that deliver in your country, so relatives can order and ship straight to your door.
A description if needed — Colour, size, version: anything that prevents mistakes.

On Givenly, everyone adds their wishes with a name, a price, a link to any shop and, if needed, a description. All in a proper list, not a shared doc that ends up unreadable.

No Duplicates, Even 3,000 Miles Apart

The long-distance Christmas nightmare: two people buy the same gift without checking with each other. On Givenly, whoever picks a gift sets their share: 100% if they’re giving it alone. Once a gift is 100% funded, it’s complete and nobody else can take it.

Long-Distance Secret Santa: How Does It Work When Nobody Is in the Same Place?

Run the draw online: the organizer enters each person’s first name and email, and every participant gets their match by email, with no account needed. Announce a budget and a shipping deadline, then everyone orders online and has the gift delivered straight to their recipient. One parcel per person.

It’s the simplest format when the family is spread out: everyone has one gift to find and one parcel to send, instead of fifteen.

The Online Draw

No slips of paper in a hat: nobody’s in the same room anyway. With Givenly’s online Secret Santa, only the organizer creates an account:

Create the Secret Santa — A name, a suggested budget and an exchange date, both optional.
Add the participants — Each person’s first name and email, from three people up, wherever they live.
Set exclusions — “Marie won’t draw Lucas” works one way only: for a couple, add both. Givenly refuses any exclusion that would make the draw impossible.
Run the draw — Everyone gets their match by email, privately. Nobody else sees it, not even the organizer.

Forgot someone, or mistyped an email? Changing participants or exclusions after the draw cancels it. Run it again: everyone gets their new match by email.

Have the Gift Delivered Straight to the Recipient

From far away, the easiest option is often not to post anything yourself. Order from an online shop that delivers in the recipient’s country and enter their address at checkout: no customs, and domestic delivery times.

Two precautions:

Share addresses with the whole group — The draw only asks for first names and emails. Send everyone’s postal address to the whole group before the draw: if everyone has all the addresses, asking for one no longer gives away who you drew.
Keep the secret to the end — Tick the gift option if the shop offers one, and sign the card “your Secret Santa”.

Another option, with no parcel at all: give an experience close to where they live, like a class or concert tickets. A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research (Chan and Mogilner, 2017) found that, according to recipients, experiential gifts strengthen relationships more than material ones, even when giver and recipient don’t share the experience. Short on ideas? Browse our 50 Christmas gift ideas sorted by budget.

Budget, Draw and Shipping Date

One budget — Announce it to everyone with the draw, and say whether shipping is included: otherwise the person sending across the world pays more than the rest.
An early enough draw — Mid-November if some people live on another continent, late November if everyone lives in the same country. Everyone has time to choose, order and ship.
A shared shipping deadline — Set by the furthest destination in the group (see below). Every gift arrives in time, and nobody is still waiting for theirs on Christmas Eve.
An opening date — The day of the video call, so you discover the gifts together.

When Should You Send Parcels for Christmas 2026?

Earlier than you think. In early October 2026, USPS had published its Christmas 2026 dates, but Colissimo and the UK Post Office were still showing their 2025 ones. Until they update, build in a margin: late November for other continents, early December within Europe, and mid-December at the latest for domestic parcels.

The Official Dates to Check

Posting within the US — USPS has published its 2026 dates. For delivery before 25 December in the contiguous US: December 17 for USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail, December 18 for Priority Mail, December 19 for Priority Mail Express (December 16 for Ground Advantage to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and US territories). Dates for international and military addresses were due on its holiday shipping page from mid-October.
Posting from the UK — In early October 2026, the Post Office’s last posting dates page still showed 2025. For reference, the last recommended dates for Christmas 2025 were Wednesday 17 December for Royal Mail 2nd Class and Saturday 20 December for 1st Class.
Posting from France — For Christmas 2025, Colissimo gave these deposit deadlines on its business site, for parcels leaving mainland France:
- Saturday 20 December 2025 for two-day delivery within France;
- Thursday 18 December 2025 for Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK;
- 15 to 17 December 2025 for the other EU countries, depending on the country;
- Saturday 13 December 2025 for the US, Canada, China, Japan and several other Asian destinations;
- Tuesday 9 December 2025 for the rest of the world.

These dates change every year: don’t reuse the 2025 ones as they are. La Poste also warns that at the end of the year it can hardly guarantee on-time delivery for last-minute parcels.

Sending to the US: Check First

The rules have changed. According to La Poste, goods posted to the US are now subject to duties from the first dollar, gifts included, and those duties are paid by the sender. Since 17 September 2026, La Poste has also temporarily suspended some products on its consumer Colissimo services, including children’s items, toys, costume jewellery, electronics, clothing and sporting goods. Whatever carrier you use, check its US page before shipping, or order from a retailer that delivers within the US.

Chip In on a Big Gift, Wherever You Are

Distance shouldn’t stop you pooling together for a great gift. Grandma wants an e-reader? The kids dream of a console? Time to chip in, even from thousands of miles away.

How Does It Work on Givenly?

When a gift is on a wishlist, the other members of the space can join in:

Click “Chip in” — Set your share as a percentage: 100% to give it alone, 25% or 50% to share it.
See where the gift stands — A gauge shows how much is already funded, with the initials of those chipping in.
At 100%, the gift is complete — Nobody else can take it.

The person it’s for sees none of this on their own list. Givenly doesn’t handle any money: payment and splitting happen between you, outside the app, by bank transfer or whichever payment app you prefer.

The long-distance tip: let whoever lives closest to the recipient do the buying. They order, have it delivered to their place or straight to the person, and the others pay them back. To work out everyone’s share, see our guide on how to chip in on a group gift without the hassle.

Open Presents Together on Video

The most moving moment of a long-distance Christmas: opening gifts together, each at home but all connected.

How to Organize It

Pick a time slot — Christmas Eve on Thursday 24, or Christmas morning or afternoon on Friday 25… Find a time that works across time zones. For example, a call at 4 pm in London on Friday 25 December is 11 am in New York or Toronto and 9 am in Vancouver.
Choose a tool — Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet… What matters is that everyone can see each other. Do a test run the day before with the least tech-savvy.
Wait for the signal — Nobody opens anything until everyone is connected. That’s the golden rule.
Keep a record — A group screenshot, reactions filmed with everyone’s agreement: that’s what lasts.

Add Some Magic

A Christmas backdrop — Ask everyone to decorate whatever’s behind them on screen.
A shared playlist — Started at the same time in every home.
A family quiz — Between parcels, a few questions about the year’s memories.

Mistakes to Avoid for a Remote Christmas

Not Planning for Postal Delays

It’s the classic trap. A gift arriving on 28 December is sad. Set your shipping date by the furthest destination, and check the 2026 deadlines published by your postal service.

Ignoring Time Zones

If Gran is in London and your brother is in Vancouver, allow for 7 hours at Christmas 2026, not 8: British Columbia stopped changing its clocks this year, according to the provincial government. Find a reasonable slot for everyone.

Forgetting the Personal Touch

Even when a shop delivers it, a gift deserves a personal note. Use the shop’s gift message option, or slip in a handwritten card if you’re posting the parcel yourself: it’s the kind of detail people remember.

Overcomplicating Things

Don’t try to recreate an in-person Christmas 100%. A Secret Santa with one gift per person is far simpler than “everyone gives to everyone”, with fifteen parcels to send.

Summary: Your Long-Distance Christmas Checklist

Create an online Christmas space and invite the whole family
Everyone fills in their wishlist, with shops that deliver to them
Pick the format: Secret Santa or wishlists
Share postal addresses with the whole group
Agree on a budget and a shared shipping deadline
Check the 2026 posting deadlines from your postal service
Pick a gift, or chip in on the bigger ones
Order and ship with plenty of margin
Set the time for the video call, on the 24th or the 25th

Organize Your Remote Christmas with Givenly

Givenly is built for families who aren’t always in the same room:

A family space — Invite everyone by email, wherever they are.
Wishlists — Name, price, link to any shop. At 100%, a gift is complete: no duplicates.
Give alone or together — Everyone sets their share as a percentage; payment happens between you.
A Secret Santa — Draw with exclusions, each match sent by email, no account needed for participants.
Everything in one place — No more scattered WhatsApp messages.

The free plan includes three Christmas spaces and two Secret Santas.

Create your Christmas space on Givenly — free, and built for scattered families.