Draw names at Easter, the family Secret Santa that works better

Easter lunch for eleven people goes like this: a leg of lamb, a good dessert, and then a slightly awkward hour before anyone can decently leave. Drawing names for a small gift, the way you do at Christmas, fills that hour better than the coffee does. Families that try it once tend to keep it.

Easter suits a second draw better than you would think

The Christmas draw comes with expectations. The Easter one has none, which is exactly why it works. The group is usually smaller, nobody expects a big present, and spring hands you the gift categories for free: chocolate, plants and small things for the garden. It also gives a holiday that otherwise involves eggs and a long lunch a bit of a middle.

Set it up two weeks ahead

Tell the family at least two weeks before Easter so people have time to think and to shop. Once you know who is in, draw names online instead of out of a bowl at the table. Everyone gets their name by email, nobody sees who has whom, and you do not have to redo the draw because your aunt pulled her own name twice.

Agree the budget before anyone buys. Between 10 and 25 is the usual range for an Easter round, and the lower end is the better choice; a 15 limit forces people to be inventive, and a 25 one just produces bigger chocolate. Decide whether the group wants edible things, useful things or small keepsakes, and set a buying deadline a few days before the day. The person who is still in the supermarket on Easter morning is always the same person.

Gifts that fit the season and the person

• A box of eggs from a real chocolatier, which at 15 is the whole budget and nobody minds
• A pot of basil, a hyacinth in bloom or a packet of sweet pea seeds for the gardener
• A hand-painted egg or a small decoration for the Easter table
• A wool scarf or a candle for the evenings, which are still cold in April
• A paperback, a 500-piece puzzle or a card game for the long weekend
• A tin of good tea, a bag of coffee beans or a jar of homemade rhubarb jam

Buy for the person before you buy for the season. Your uncle who has never touched a plant does not want a hyacinth, however springlike it looks.

Make the handover a game

Handing over a wrapped parcel is fine. Hiding it is better. Write a clue or two that leads each person to their gift somewhere in the house or garden, and you have an egg hunt for adults. The five-year-old at the table will take it more seriously than anyone.

The other option is to put all the gifts on one table and draw numbers for the opening order. Before each parcel is opened, the receiver guesses who bought it. A wrong guess is usually funnier than a right one. If your family likes talking, have the giver read out one line about why they chose the gift.

Give every generation something to do

Small children care about the mystery and the unwrapping, so keep their gifts simple. Teenagers like the challenge of choosing well for whoever they drew, and it is one of the few Easter jobs they will do without being asked. Grandparents often enjoy the choosing more than the receiving. Pairing the youngest with the oldest, so that they buy for each other, tends to get two people talking who otherwise would not.

Someone will not want to buy a gift, and that is fine. Let them contribute a homemade cake, a handwritten card or an hour of peeling potatoes instead. The point is that everyone takes part, and a cake counts.

Get the draw done this week

An Easter round needs a date, a budget and a list of names, nothing more. If you want it at this year's lunch, organise a Secret Santa now so everyone has their name before the shops get busy.