Lucky Santa - Secret Santa with a Treasure Trails Twist!

We love Secret Santa at Treasure Trails - it’s our favourite office ‘get together’ of the year! The only problem for us is that it takes such a long time to find all the presents. That's because everyone insists on hiding them with clues!

This year we’ve made Secret Santa even more fun by giving it the Treasure Trails treatment... we are calling it ‘Lucky Santa’!

'Lucky Santa' utilises the forces of luck and destiny to determine which present you receive, if any! Furthermore, not only could you win or lose your present but you could also win a cash prize or a bucket load of chocolate! It’s all up to Lady Luck (and Father Christmas) to decide your fate.

Here's How it Works

1. Every member of the family (or office/group) agrees to buy a present for a set value (we suggest £5 to £10). The present can be anything and should not be bought for a particular person. When choosing a present people need to remember that they could end up with the present themselves!
2. Everyone must wrap their present in a way that disguises what it is.
3. On the day of your ‘Lucky Santa’ event, all players must bring their wrapped present. They must also bring along £2 and a bar of chocolate of their choice. You need to decide whether you want to play using the online digital generator we have provided below or play the traditional way, offline. If playing offline, you will need a coin, a dice, and a pack of cards. You will also need to print out the roulette table.
4. Clear a table and put all the presents together, along with a sheet of paper with the words 'Present Pot' written on it.
5. Then put all of the £2 entry fees together, along with a sheet of paper with the words 'Cash Pot' written on it.
6. Finally, put all of the chocolate bars together in a pile, along with a sheet of paper with the words 'Chocolate Pot' written on it.
7. Players take it in turns to choose a present. The only rule is that they can’t choose their own present. If the last person to pick happens to be left with their own present, they will need to swap it with the person on their right.
8. You are now ready to play! Lady Luck will determine what happens to the presents as each person plays the ‘Flip, Roll & Pick’ game as explained below.

Part 1 - 'Flip, Roll & Pick'!

‘Flip, Roll & Pick’ to get your Lucky Santa number. This can either be done using our online digital generator, or you can do it the traditional way and flip a coin, roll the dice and then pick a playing card – if you do it the traditional way, follow the flow chart further down the page to see which number Lady Luck has led you to. For the online digital generator, follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Flip

Get a coin out of your pocket - and flip it! OR flip a coin digitally here.

Step 2: Roll

Get a dice - and roll it! OR roll online here.

Step 3: Pick

Get a pack of playing cards - and pick one at random! OR pick a card online here.

Step 4: Your Number as determined by Lady Luck!

Follow the flow chart below to see which number Lady Luck has led you to.

Part 2 - The Roulette Table!

Using the roulette table below, check which 'Action' your number relates to and then follow the instructions given on the roulette table.

Once all the players have had their go, the final part is to share out the 'Present Pot', 'Cash Pot', and 'Chocolate Pot' to those names which are on the respective lists. If there is only one name on a list, that person receives everything in the pot. If there is more than one name, then the pot is split equally. In the unlikely event that any of the pots have no names, it’s up to you to decide what you want to do with the pot in question; we recommend a raffle with one lucky winner receiving the whole pot!

The beauty of this game is that if you have lost your present, it is very likely that you will have either won some cash or won some chocolate, so you shouldn't be left disappointed. Depending on how many are playing it could also be that winning the cash pot might be more valuable than winning two presents!

Explanation of the Actions

There are 6 actions on the roulette table. Players must follow the action that corresponds to their number, even if they don’t want to! The rules for each action are as follows:

Action 1.

Choose someone and take their present.

In this action, the person should take someone else’s present and add it to their own.They cannot take a name from any of the Pot lists instead. The person who is losing their present should write their name on the Chocolate Pot list as compensation for losing their present!

Action 2.

Exchange your present with someone else.

You can either exchange your present for another present, or exchange your present with someone’s name on a list. In this action, the person can decide to simply swap their present with someone else, or they can swap their present with someone who has their name on one of the lists. In this instance, they give their present to the person on the list, cross out that name and replace it with their own.

Action 3.

Donate your present to the Present Pot and add your name to the Cash Pot list.

If the person who wins this has no present, they cannot add their name to the Cash Pot list.

Action 4.

Put your name on the Cash Pot list.

The person who wins this keeps any present they may have.

Action 5.

Put your name on the Chocolate Pot list.

The person who wins this keeps any present they may have.

Action 6.

Put your name on the Present Pot list.

The person who wins this keeps any present they may have.