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Worst gift contest

The perfect horror, hunted down for one specific person

The ceramic frog. The singing fish. The mug with somebody else’s name on it. Draw names, and everyone spends a week hunting the perfect disaster for one specific person.

Set up our contest

Free · No account for the players · Ready in three minutes

Your victim isMilo

Why the draw is what makes it funny

A pile of random bad gifts is just a pile. Drawn names turn it into a competition: you are not looking for something terrible, you are looking for the terrible thing that will destroy one particular person.

It also makes the reveal work. Nobody knows who inflicted what until the moment it is unwrapped, which is precisely when the room needs the surprise.

How to organise it

  1. 1

    Set the date and the ceiling

    Five or ten. A worst-gift contest with a real budget stops being funny and starts being a bad Secret Santa.

  2. 2

    Add the players

    Name and email. Nobody installs anything and nobody creates an account — a joke that needs a sign-up is already over.

  3. 3

    Mark who lives together

    Two people from the same flat drawing each other means one household hosts two horrors and shows nobody.

  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

Bad, not mean
The line is simple: the gift is funny because it is hideous, never because it is about somebody’s body, money or relationship. Say it out loud before the draw, not after the damage.
Secondhand is the whole point
Charity shops, attics, the back of a drawer. Buying a brand-new bad gift misses the sport, and costs more than the joke is worth.
Decide how you crown the winner
A show of hands after the last one is opened works. Pick the method before you start, or the argument becomes the evening.
Agree what happens afterwards
Keep it, re-gift it next year, or bin it on the spot. The last one is the most honest and the trophy tends to come back anyway.

Common questions

How many players do you need?

Three is the minimum. With two there is no secret: each one knows exactly who is about to ruin their evening.

Can I stop two people from drawing each other?

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

Can people say what they would hate?

Yes, and it is funnier that way. Each person can fill in a short wishlist, which reaches only the one giving to them — treat it as a shopping list rather than a warning.

Will I see who drew whom?

No. The matches are encrypted and never displayed, including to you as the organiser. Your dashboard shows who has opened their card, and nothing else.

Does it work at the office?

It does, with a lower ceiling and the rule above stated in writing. Teams that already joke together love it; teams that do not should run an ordinary Secret Santa.

What if someone joins after the draw?

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

Somebody has to receive the frog

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

Set up our contestPindao