We're not even in mid-November, but Christmas spirit is alive and well on social media as Twitter's @nzsecretsanta initiative opens for registration today.

In 2010, @websam created Secret Santa for the Twitter community of New Zealand. By 2012, it had grown larger and Sam needed help. He put a call out via the social media platform, and along came New Zealand Post to help out.

New followers on Twitter will be asked to link their account to a New Zealand Post account. Photo: Supplied.

Wikipedia classify Secret Santa as a Christmas tradition in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a gift.

From its original start in 2010, the phenomenon has grown. The people behind @nzsecretsanta told SunLive in 2013 that they had about 1500 followers. Last year, that number grew to 2600, and they are expecting further growth this time around.

'We're hoping for more quality over quantity this year,” says Sam. 'We're not pushing for more players, just want to see more active and engaged players.”

To be part of NZ Secret Santa followers, simply register. When a follower signs up, they will be prompted to link their Twitter account to a New Zealand Post online account.

By doing this, it means the follower doesn't have to hand out their personal address to a complete stranger.

New Zealand Post can store their address, as well as track the gift from you, as well as the gift to you. This will be displayed on the follower's Secret Santa dashboard.

Plus, it will help the elves determine who will receive a gift once they have all been sent into Santa's Storehouse. The only information New Zealand Post give your Secret Santa is your Twitter handle.

Followers then have to find out what their recipient likes and then get creative by finding, making or buying them a gift for around $10.

'We love the community aspect of it more than anything. It's just a great, fun thing to participate in and a good way to make use of [NZ Post] courier network.”

To find out more about how to send and receive gifts, visit: https://nzsecretsanta.nzpost.co.nz/how