How it works

1. What this is

Lootjes trekken, the Dutch Secret Santa: everyone who joins draws one secret name, mails that person a surprise gift, and on reveal day we find out who was whose Secret Sint.

It all runs in the OGL5 Discord and on this website, https://ogl5-sint.duckdns.org. Log in with Discord; the site is for OGL5 members only.

2. Join

Press Join on the announcement in #sinterklaas, or type /sint join. You can also join from the home page of this site while sign-ups are open.

Sign-ups close Sat, Nov 14, 11:59 PM ET.

3. Your mailing address

Press Add my address in the welcome message the bot sends you, or add it on this site under Me. Add it before the draw.

Your address is stored encrypted. Only you and your Secret Sint (after the draw) can see it, and it is deleted on Wed, Feb 10, 2027.

4. Your wishlist

Put at least 3 wishes on your list, with links where you can, so your Sint has ideas. Use My wishlist on the site or /sint wish add in Discord.

Wishlists are readable by every OGL5 member who logs in: that is how your Secret Sint finds yours without asking.

5. The draw

De Sint draws the names Sun, Nov 15, 12:15 AM ET. Right after, the bot DMs you your lootje: the person you are the Secret Sint for and their wishes. Their mailing address and full wishlist are on My draw.

No DM? Press Reveal my lootje on the draw post in #sinterklaas, type /sint draw, or open My draw on the site. Keep your lootje a secret until pakjesavond.

6. Anonymous messages

Need a size or a colour? Ask your giftee with /sint ask; it arrives as "From your Secret Sint" with no name. Your own Secret Sint may ask you things too: answer with /sint reply.

On the site, the thread with your giftee is on My draw and the thread with your Secret Sint is on Me.

7. Shipping

Ship your gift by Tue, Dec 15, budget $50 USD per gift, by mail.

Shipped it? Type /sint sent (a tracking number is optional and only you and de Sint see it) or press I shipped it on My draw. When yours arrives, type /sint received or press I received my pakje on Me, and send your Secret Sint a thank-you note with /sint thanks.

8. The gedicht

A proper Sinterklaas surprise comes with a gedicht, a playful rhyming poem that teases your giftee a little. On My draw, jot down a few hints and let de Sint draft a rhyme, then polish it and save it (or /sint poem for the link). Your giftee gets it on pakjesavond.

Surprises (creative wrapping) and gedichten are always welcome, never required.

9. Pakjesavond: the reveal

The pakjes may be opened and every Secret Sint is revealed Sun, Dec 27, 5:00 PM ET. Then see who was whose Sint on the reveal page.

Share a photo of your pakje with /sint photo or in the gallery on the site once it opens at the reveal.

10. Schoen zetten

From Sun, Nov 15 to Sat, Dec 5, set your shoe by the chimney once a day with /sint shoe. The Pieten fill it overnight with pepernoten (and sometimes a treat), and at the end of the week everyone with three or more shoe days gets a chocoladeletter.

11. Privacy

• Your address: only you and your Secret Sint after the draw (the organizer sees only whether one is on file). Encrypted, and deleted on the purge date.
• Your wishlist and the list of who is aboard: every OGL5 member who logs in.
• Who drew whom: only the giver, until the reveal. Discord never shows pairs, the organizer's dashboard shows readiness and counts only, and the pairs on the site sit behind an emergency spoiler switch that the organizer (a participant too) keeps closed.
• Messages to your giftee never carry your name; tracking numbers are seen only by you and de Sint.
• If you let de Sint draft a gedicht, your giftee's name, interests, wish titles and your hints are sent to Claude (Anthropic) to write it; never an address.
• Nothing is sold or shared with anyone else.

12. Command cheat sheet

Type these in any channel of the OGL5 server; the answers are only visible to you (except /sint photo, which posts your photo in the channel).