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Secret Santa generator
Draw names for your gift exchange in seconds. Keep couples apart and skip last year’s pairs, then send everyone a private link, pass one phone around or print slips. No emails, no sign-up, and the draw happens on your device.
Who’s taking part
Or paste them separated by commas. Put a couple or family on one line, like Ana & Ben, and they won’t draw each other.
No names yet.
Wish lists and sizes (optional)
Each person’s Secret Santa sees their note once they reveal the name.
Add names first.
Who can’t draw whom
Couples and families on one line are already kept apart. Add rules for anyone else.
Names drawn
You’ve changed the names or rules since this draw. Draw again to use the changes.
Send each person their own link in any chat app or email. A link shows only its person’s match, so send it to them alone.
Hand the device to each person in turn. They tap their name, see who they’re giving to, and hide it before passing the device on.
One slip per person, six to a page. Cut along the dashed lines, fold the bottom flap up over the name, and give each slip to the person named on the front.
Save the group to send these links again later, and to avoid these pairs next year.
Some people already know who they’re giving to. A new draw changes everyone’s match, so you’d need to send everyone a new link or slip.
What you type stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
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How to draw names for Secret Santa
- Type or paste everyone’s names, one per line. Put a couple on one line, like Ana & Ben, so they don’t draw each other.
- Add any other rules, the budget, the date and place, and wish lists if you like.
- Press Draw names. The page never shows who has whom, so you can take part too.
- Send each person their private link, pass your phone around, or print slips to hand out.
Questions
Does everyone need an email address or an account?
No. Nobody signs up and no emails are sent. Send each person their own link in any chat app, pass one phone around the room, or print slips to hand out at the office.
Can I take part in a draw I’m organizing?
Yes. The page never shows who has whom: each person sees only their own match, in their link, on their slip or when they tap their name. Just don’t open anyone else’s link or slip.
How private are the links?
Each link holds one person’s match after the #, a part of the address browsers never send to a website, and the page clears it from the address bar once it’s read. The match is scrambled, so a glance at the link doesn’t give the name away, but it isn’t encrypted: whoever opens a link sees that match, so send each link only to its person. The draw itself is worked out by the organizer’s browser, on their device. Nothing reaches our servers, but someone with that device and the know-how could dig the pairs out.
How do couples and other exclusions work?
Put a couple or family on one line, like Ana & Ben, and they won’t draw each other. For anything else, add a rule such as “Carla can’t draw Dev”, one way or both ways. If the rules make a draw impossible, the page says why in plain words, such as two people who could only draw the same person.
What do “No drawing each other” and “One big circle” do?
No drawing each other stops two people from simply swapping gifts. One big circle links everyone in one chain: Ana gives to Ben, Ben to Carla, and so on until the last person gives to Ana, which is handy if you open gifts one at a time round the room.
Is the draw fair?
Yes. It uses your browser’s cryptographic random number generator, and every draw that fits your rules is exactly as likely as any other. Nobody can draw themselves.
Can we draw again next year without repeats?
Yes. Save the group on this device after the draw. Next year, open it, tick Avoid last year’s pairs and draw: nobody gets the same person again. Saved groups stay in this browser; delete them in the tool, or by clearing this site’s data.
What if someone loses their link?
If you saved the group, open it to bring back the same draw and copy their link again. Drawing again gives everyone a new match, so if you do, send everyone their new link.