Secret Santa Generator

How to draw Secret Santa names online

Drawing Secret Santa names online takes 3 steps: type the names, add the rules, and send each person their link.

1. Type everyone taking part, one name per line. Each name must be different, so add an initial when two people share a name.
2. Add the pairs who can’t draw each other, such as couples or people who live together, one pair per line: Anna, Ben. Add the budget, the date of the exchange and a message if you like.
3. Press Draw names, then copy each person’s private link and send it to them by text, chat or email. Each link shows that person only who they buy for.

Private links: everyone sees only their own name

Every person gets their own link, and that link reveals only their match. The organiser never has to see the full list, so the organiser can take part too. The page shows a list of names with a Copy link and a WhatsApp button next to each one.

The draw happens in your browser and nothing is sent to our server. Each link carries its own match, scrambled so the name can’t be read at a glance. It isn’t encrypted, so send each link only to its owner.

Drawing names on one phone

For a family gathering, use Pass the phone. The page asks for each person in turn, they tap to see their name, then hide it and hand the phone on. Nobody needs a link or their own phone.

Rules the draw always follows

• Nobody draws their own name.
• The pairs you list never draw each other, in either direction.
• With No two people draw each other ticked, there are no swaps where A buys for B and B buys for A.
• Every valid draw has the same chance. The order is shuffled with your browser’s cryptographic random generator.

When the rules leave no possible draw, for example 4 people where everyone is in an excluded pair, the page says so and asks you to remove a rule.

Secret Santa ideas and rules for your group

• Office Secret Santa: set one budget for everyone, such as $20, and a clear exchange date.
• Family Secret Santa: exclude couples and people in the same household so gifts spread across the family.
• Friends: add a theme in the message, such as “something handmade” or “a book you love”.

Need a winner rather than a gift swap? Use the giveaway picker. To draw a single name, spin the random name picker.