Secret Santa Situations

[Sec 3 Maths and Beyond: Combinatorics & Derangements]

Merry Christmas to you all! Kept you waiting, huh?

Have you ever played Secret Santa before? You know, randomising the gift you're giving to the other person and not knowing who's going to get what. Or so it goes, but it's not always perfect, is it?

There are other ways of making the distribution consistent, of course, but there's a certain je ne sais quoi to doing it with your family and friends with everyone gathered around sharing the experience with you. And hey - If you didn't get a chance to gather with your family because of Covid-19, there's always next year.