Secret Santa generator
Draw names for a Secret Santa gift exchange. Keep couples and families apart, set a budget and send each person a private link with only their own match.
Everybody gets one name, and only their own
A Secret Santa draw has two jobs. It has to hand every person exactly one other person to buy for, and it has to keep that a secret from everyone else — including whoever is organising it. Pulling names out of a hat does the first job and fails the second the moment somebody draws themselves or the organiser has to redraw in front of the room.
Here you type the group once, mark who must not draw whom, and press draw. Instead of a list of pairs, you get one link per person. Each link opens a wrapped present with that person's name on the tag; they unwrap it and see who they are shopping for, plus the budget, the date and anything you wanted to tell everyone.
Nothing needs an account, and nobody has to install anything. The result for each person travels inside their link, after the # sign — the part of a web address that browsers keep to themselves and never send to a server.
Running a draw in three steps
Set everything up before you press the button: drawing again later makes earlier links useless.
Type the participants, one per line. If someone has a wish, add it after a vertical bar: “Clara | something for her garden”. The person who draws Clara will see it.
On the exclusions field, put people who must not draw each other on one line, separated by commas — partners, flatmates, parents and children. Add the budget, the exchange day and a short message.
Press “Draw names”. Every tag gets a “Copy link” button; send each link privately to the person whose name is on the tag.
What the draw takes care of
The rules people usually argue about are settings here, not favours to ask of the organiser.
- Between 3 and 100 participants in one draw
- Exclusion groups: anyone on the same line never draws anyone else on it
- An option to forbid swapped pairs, so A buying for B never means B buys for A
- Wishes after | are shown only to the person buying that gift
- Budget, exchange day and a message from the organiser on every reveal
- One private link per person, with copy and share buttons
- The organiser's screen never lists who got whom
- A clear error when the rules make a fair draw impossible
Offices, families and friends who live apart
The same draw works whether everyone is in one room or in five time zones.
A team lead sets a 20-euro budget for twelve colleagues and pastes each link into a direct message on the team chat.
A family of nine puts each couple on its own exclusion line, so no one ends up buying for the person they share a home with.
University friends scattered across three countries draw in November and post their gifts in time for the holidays.
A class teacher runs a small, budget-capped exchange and hands every pupil their link through the school messenger.
A book club adds the title each member would like to read after the | sign.
A remote team uses the message field to agree on the video call where everyone opens their parcels.
How the names are matched
The draw looks for a complete assignment in which every person gives exactly once and receives exactly once, nobody draws themselves and no exclusion line is broken. It searches in a random order and restarts if it runs into a dead end, so any assignment that satisfies the rules can come out, not just the first one that happens to fit.
The swapped-pairs option only applies from four people up: with three people, the only possible draws are a single loop, so it is never needed. If your exclusions leave no valid draw — say, a three-person group where two people are excluded from each other — the tool tells you instead of quietly breaking a rule.
What it cannot promise
The links are private because of where the result sits, not because it is encrypted. The organiser, or anyone else who gets hold of a link, can open it and see that person's match. Send each link only to its owner.
There is no shared online list: participants cannot edit their own wish, and nobody receives an automatic email. If a wish changes, update the line and draw again, then send the new links.
The tool does not shop, track parcels or check that everyone stays within budget.
For a draw nobody complains about
- Agree on the budget and date before you draw, because they are printed on every link.
- Ask everyone for a wish in advance; one line after | saves a lot of guessing.
- Send links in private messages, never in the group chat, where one wrong tap opens someone else's present.
- If someone drops out after the draw, draw again and send all links anew — a single gap would reveal who had that person.
Secret Santa questions
Can the organiser see who got whom?
Not on the organiser's screen, which only shows names and link buttons. Each link carries its own result, though, so the organiser could open someone else's link. If the organiser also takes part, it is best not to.
How do I stop couples from drawing each other?
Put them on the same line of the exclusion field, separated by commas. Anyone on that line can never draw anyone else on it. Whole families can share a line.
Do participants need an account or an email address?
No. Each person just opens their link. Nothing is sent by email, so you choose how to deliver links: messenger, text message or a printed QR code.
Can two people end up buying for each other?
Only if you allow it. Turn on the option against swapped pairs and, from four people up, nobody who buys for someone will also be bought for by them.
What happens if I press draw again?
You get a completely new assignment, and every link you sent before stops matching it. Draw again only before sending, or if you are ready to resend every link.
Is my list stored on your server?
No. The draw runs in your browser and the results live in the links after the # sign, a part of the address that is never sent to a server.
How many people can take part?
From 3 to 100 people in one draw. For bigger groups, split by department or floor and run one draw for each.