A Country-Wide Secret Santa Is The Most New Zealand Thing To Ever Happen

www.awol.com.au

Welcome to New Zealand: the land of the long white cloud, the place where pavlova was actually invented, and the backdrop to the blockbuster fantasy films adapted from – oh, you know where we’re going with this one.

If – unlike the rest of the world – New Zealand isn’t already your favourite country, this very excellent country-wide Secret Santa service might change your mind. Organised by New Zealand Post, the NZ Secret Santa connects citizens from around the country in the spirit of anonymous gift giving, meaning each participant both sends and receives a small gift from a stranger. Naw. Once the present-giver is assigned their Secret Santa, they’re encouraged to investigate the person’s Twitter and get creative, either making or buying them a personalised gift they’ll love around the $10 mark, sending it off, and eventually receiving their own.

The concept was originally created by Twitter user @websam way back in 2010, but was delegated to NZ Post when the appeal of helping perfect strangers feel the joy of the holidays was too strong and too many people signed up. Only in New Zealand, hey.

Registrations for this year have just closed, and the almost 2,000 participants have until December 4 to ship off their gifts. Once received, they can share the joy using the hashtag #NZSecretSanta which, as our sister site Junkee said, is “pretty much that happiest place on the internet right now.”