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Secret Santa Generator

Runs on our server, not on your device.

Type in the names, keep couples apart, and give everyone a private link that shows only who they drew.

  1. Type everybody's name, one per line, and add any couples who should not draw each other.
  2. Set a budget and the day you swap presents if you like, then press Draw names.
  3. Send each person their own link. Opening it shows who they drew, and lets them write a wishlist.
 
One pair per line, like Anna & Ben. Works both ways.
 

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About this tool

Drawing names out of a hat works until half the family lives somewhere else, someone pulls their own name, or the couple who were going to buy each other a present anyway draw each other. This Secret Santa generator does the draw for you, fairly, and nobody has to be in the same room. Type in everybody taking part, add any pairs who should not draw each other, and press Draw names. Each person gets a private link of their own. Opening it shows them one thing: the name of the person they are buying for, with that person's wishlist, the budget and the day you swap presents. Nobody else can see who they drew — not the other people in the group, and not you, the organiser, even though you are probably in the draw yourself. The draw puts everybody in one circle whenever it can, so nobody ends up swapping with the person who drew them. Everybody can write a wishlist on their own page, which only their Santa sees. And because the links are kept on your account, the cousin who loses theirs in December is one copy away from having it again. A free account draws up to 20 people; Pro draws a whole office of up to 100.

Frequently asked questions

Can the organiser see who drew whom?

No. You get one link per person and a list showing who has opened theirs, but never the pairs. That is deliberate: the organiser is nearly always in the draw too, and a list of pairs would spoil it for you and make you the one person everybody could ask. Each link shows its holder one name — the person they are buying for — and nothing else.

How do I stop couples drawing each other?

Write each pair on its own line under "Who must not draw each other", like Anna & Ben. It works both ways, so Anna cannot draw Ben and Ben cannot draw Anna. Add as many pairs as you need. If the rules leave no possible draw — which can happen in a very small group with a lot of pairs — the page tells you before you press anything.

Can two people end up drawing each other?

Not if it can be avoided. The draw puts everybody in a single circle — each person buys for the next — which means nobody swaps with the person who drew them, so nobody can work out who their Santa is. Only when your exclusions make a circle impossible does it fall back to any draw that keeps the rules.

How does the wishlist work?

Everybody can write a wishlist on their own page: ideas, sizes, things they already have. Only the person who drew them sees it, on their page, under the name. People can come back and change it as often as they like, so a Santa who checks again in a week sees the latest version.

Do the people in the group need an account?

No. Each person just opens their link, on a phone or anything else, with nothing to sign up for and nothing to install. Only the organiser signs in, and that is for a practical reason: somebody always loses their link, and your account is where you copy it again. A free account draws up to 20 people; Pro draws up to 100.

How long do the links work?

Until a month after the day you swap presents, or ninety days if you do not set a date — long enough for everybody to buy, give and open their presents, and short enough that the names are gone by spring. You can take a group down earlier from your account page.

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