In El Salvador gifts are opened on the night of the 24th, not on the morning of the 25th. For a cuchumbo, that means the deadline is Christmas Eve, and gifts should be bought before dinner. El Salvador shares the word cuchumbo with Honduras; the calendar is its own.
The December calendar
Draw before the aguinaldo
The Labor Code requires employers to pay the aguinaldo between December 12 and 20, and many people buy their gifts with it.
If you draw names before then, everyone knows who they're buying for when the money arrives. Agree on the spending limit at the start so nobody decides it at the last minute.
Christmas Eve for family, earlier for work
Families open gifts on the night of the 24th, after dinner and the midnight fireworks, so a family cuchumbo fits right there.
At the office or at school, gifts are usually exchanged earlier: the last week of work or classes, while the group still meets.
Office and family, separately
At the office you need a clear limit and gifts that won't make anyone uncomfortable. In the family, jokes and handmade gifts are fine. If you're doing both, run two separate draws, each with its own budget.
Gifts beside the nativity scene
In many Salvadoran homes the nativity scene takes up the living room, and the gifts sit there until the night of the 24th. If yours will be on display for days, wrap it well.
Tips for organizing it
Set the gift day first, then work back to the draw date. Put the limit in dollars and write it in the same message as the link.
If someone in the group lives abroad, decide early whether the gift gets shipped or bought there: international shipping in December can take weeks.
Set up your Cuchumbo
Write the names and share one link. The app runs the draw and nobody sees the full result, the organizer included.
