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In the family

One gift each, instead of one for everyone

Large families end up buying twenty presents and thinking hard about none of them. A draw turns that into one gift per person, chosen with care.

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Why families draw names

Christmas in a family has a way of inflating. Add a couple of nephews, a new partner, a set of grandparents, and everyone is buying for everyone — twenty small presents nobody remembers by February.

Drawing names fixes the arithmetic. Each person gives once and receives once, with a real budget behind a single present instead of a token one spread thin.

How to organise it

  1. 1

    Agree the rule at the table

    Decide together before anyone starts shopping. A draw announced once half the family has bought presents never lands well.

  2. 2

    Add everyone, children included

    First name, last name, email. For children too young for an inbox, use a parent address and keep the child name.

  3. 3

    Keep households apart

    Partners opening presents in the same room usually prefer not to draw each other. Flag the pairs and the draw avoids them.

  4. 4

    Send the draw

    Everyone gets a private link and scratches a card. You see who has opened theirs, never who drew whom.

Worth agreeing on first

One budget for the whole family
The ceiling has to work for the student and the retired grandparent alike. Set it where the tightest budget in the family is comfortable.
A rule for the children
Some families draw for the children separately, others keep everyone in one draw. Decide early, because changing it later means starting over.
Couples, in or out
Plenty of couples also exchange privately. Flag them so nobody ends up giving twice into the same household.
A date everyone can meet
Run the draw well before the family calendar fills up, so nobody buys their present at a service station on the way over.

Common questions

Can children take part?

Yes. Use a parent address for anyone too young for their own inbox: the parent gets the link and scratches with them, which is half the fun.

Can I stop two people from drawing each other?

Yes. Flag any pair — partners, siblings, a household — and the draw routes around them. If the exclusions make a valid draw impossible, Pindao says so before a single email goes out.

Will I see who drew whom?

No. The matches are encrypted and never displayed, including to you as the organiser. Your dashboard shows progress only.

Does everyone need an account?

No. Each person gets a private link by email that works straight away — which matters when half the family will not install anything.

What if a relative joins at the last minute?

Add them anyway. Pindao slots the newcomer into the cycle, so exactly one existing match changes and only that person is told.

Can we set a theme instead of a budget?

Yes. Homemade only, second-hand only, or something from the year gone by. A constraint often produces better presents than a bigger budget.

Twenty presents, or one that counts

Add the family, send the draw, and let everyone scratch.

Set up our family drawPindao

Worth reading before you draw

Guides written for this kind of exchange — the rules, the budget, and the part that usually goes wrong.

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