At the office, the hard part of a gift exchange is usually deciding what to give someone you work with but don't know well.
A theme narrows the options, the budget narrows them further, and the draw decides who buys for whom. Done in that order, it takes one meeting and one link.
Theme, budget and draw, in that order
Pick a broad theme
The theme has to work within the budget and at a nearby shop. “Something that fits in a mug”, “something for the desk” or “made locally” all work.
“Vintage sci-fi paperbacks” is one person's taste, not a theme. A simple test: could the quietest person on the team buy something without asking for help?
Set the budget before inviting people
Decide the theme and the budget together: “handmade” with a high limit is one thing and with a low limit is another. Set the range first and announce the theme within it, in the same message, so you don't get questions afterwards.
Draw names early
A schedule that works: announce the theme on Monday, close the list on Wednesday, draw on Friday. That gives everyone at least a week to shop.
With an online draw, each person knows only who they got, and nobody can go around asking who has whom.
Gift day
Announce gift day together with the draw, so nobody gets a name without knowing the date. On the day, a table of gifts that share a theme looks good. The theme is public; who gives to whom is not.
If nobody can agree
Suggest two themes and let the team vote in a poll. If there's no agreement by the deadline, drop the theme, keep the budget and draw anyway. An exchange without a theme beats no exchange.
One meeting, one link, done
Create the exchange, paste the names or invite people with a link, and Cuchumbo runs the draw. It's free, needs no account, and nobody sees the full result, the organizer included.
