The Social Life: Secret gifts from Santa online

Alison King is taking part in Twitter's New Zealand Secret Santa. Photo/Thinkstock.

I'm expecting to be stalked over the next 10 days. You might expect that I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable, looking over my shoulder at every opportunity and making sure I'm safe.

I'm not.

I'm doing my own stalking instead. Twitter's New Zealand Secret Santa is on the go. I signed up a couple of weeks ago and, on Monday, I was emailed with my Secret Santa recipient. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of the few New Zealanders I already follow, which means I have to do some stealth-like stalking.

If you've not seen it, it's a similar premise to the Secret Santas organised in workplaces - and in many families where present buying would be enough to send a country into debt.

My email dropped in my inbox Friday evening and there was a sudden burst of excitement. If I had received my email then the person buying my Secret Santa would have been notified about me.

But then I realised I wasn't doing my buyer many favours. I've not been very active on my personal Twitter feed of late, instead logging in as the Rotorua Daily Post (@TheDailyPost) and sharing our stories with our followers. So I've started bombarding my followers with tweets that I hope will help my Secret Santa.

There's nothing worse than being stuck on what to buy as a gift. I should know, I'm still trying to come up with ideas for my entire family this Christmas.

I'm in another Secret Santa in my Facebook mums group. I decided against joining another Facebook-based one, and there's bound to be the annual office Secret Santa.

If you're keen to hold one but want an effortless way of doing it (and one where you don't know who has you) then you can use elfster.com, which is an online Secret Santa organiser. If you're really bold, you can set up a wish list on there too - would make my job a whole lot easier.

Now what to buy?

On a similar note, I've been using the social networks to help with my Christmas dilemmas. Twitter DMs have been winging their way to the other side of the world and back within minutes as I figure out what to buy my mum and my sister wonders what to buy my non-tweeting husband.

It's not too late to do your own Secret Santa, tell us your best and worst gifts received (or given).