Secret Santa Generator

Free Secret Santa Generator — No Sign-Up, Private Links

Draw names for your Secret Santa, gift exchange or Kris Kringle in seconds. Enter the names, add couples who shouldn’t draw each other, and send everyone a private link. Each person opens their link and sees only who they’re buying for — plus the budget, the date and that person’s wish list.

The draw happens entirely in your browser. There are no accounts, no emails collected and nothing is saved on our server: each match is encrypted inside its own link.

How to Draw Names for Secret Santa

1. Name your gift exchange and, if you like, set a budget and the date you’ll swap gifts. Everyone sees both on their own page, together with a countdown.
2. Add everyone who takes part. Type the names one by one or paste a whole list from a group chat or spreadsheet. Add wishes if you know them — only the person who draws that name will see them.
3. Add exclusions for people who shouldn’t draw each other: couples, people living in the same household, or last year’s pairs. An exclusion works in both directions.
4. Click “Draw names”. Every person gets their own private link. Send it by WhatsApp, email, any messenger or the share menu of your phone.
5. Keep your organizer link. It lets you handle drop-outs and late joiners later without drawing again.

Secret Santa, Gift Exchange, Kris Kringle — One Tool

Whatever your group calls it — Secret Santa, Kris Kringle, a gift exchange, Secret Santa at the office, or a family name draw — the idea is the same: everyone draws one name, buys a gift for that person and keeps it a secret until the exchange. The generator works for 3 to 60 people, for friends, families, classrooms, clubs and teams, and for any occasion: Christmas, Hanukkah, a birthday swap or a book exchange.

Each draw is a derangement: nobody draws their own name, every person gives exactly one gift and receives exactly one. All valid pairings are equally likely; the random numbers come from your browser’s cryptographic generator, not from a predictable formula.

Couples, Families and Other Exclusions

In a family Secret Santa, partners usually buy for each other anyway, so it’s more fun if they can’t draw each other. Add each couple as an exclusion and the generator finds a draw that respects all of them. If your exclusions make a draw impossible — for example, when three people may only give to the same one person — you get a clear message naming who is stuck, instead of a draw that silently breaks your rules.

When Someone Drops Out or Joins Late

Plans change. With most Secret Santa generators that means drawing all names again and sending everyone a new link. Here, open your organizer link instead:

• Someone drops out: whoever had their name takes over the person they were buying for. Usually only that one person gets a new link (two, if an exclusion or a pair who drew each other gets in the way) — everyone else keeps their match.
• Someone joins late: the newcomer is slotted into the circle. Two links change: the newcomer’s own link and the link of the person who now buys for them.

After each change you get a new organizer link. Keep the newest one; older ones still show the old state of the draw.

Why There’s No Sign-Up

Most people don’t want another account just to find out whose name they drew. So this Secret Santa generator doesn’t ask for one. The organizer doesn’t need an email address, and neither does anyone else. The email field is optional and only fills in the “Email” button, which opens your own mail program with a ready-made message — we never send anything.

Features

• Private links — each person sees only their own match.
• Exclusions in both directions for couples, households and last year’s pairs.
• Wish lists, budget and date with a countdown on every reveal page.
• The organizer can take part without seeing who got whom.
• Drop-outs and late joiners without a new draw.
• Send by WhatsApp, email or the share menu, on desktop and phone.
• No sign-up, no ads in the links, nothing stored on a server.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this Secret Santa generator really free?

Yes. There is no paid version, no account and no limit on how many draws you run.

Can the organizer see who got whom?

Not if they don’t want to. Keep “I’m taking part — don’t show me who got whom” ticked and the organizer only sees names and links. To be honest about it: the organizer holds every link and could open one, just as someone could unfold a paper slip from a hat. If that matters in your group, let each person open their own link first, or pick an organizer who doesn’t take part.

Where are the names and wishes stored?

Nowhere on our side. Each match is encrypted with AES-GCM inside the part of the link after the “#”. Browsers never send that part to a web server, so our server only sees that someone opened the reveal page — not who they are or whom they drew. If you lose your links, we can’t restore them. The details, including what this can’t protect against, are in How a Secret Santa link can hide the match from the server.

What happens if a link gets cut off in a messenger?

The reveal page notices that the link is incomplete and asks the person to get it again from the organizer. It never shows a wrong match. Use the Copy button so the link is copied in full.

How many people can take part?

Between 3 and 60 people per draw. For bigger groups, split them into teams or departments and run one draw per group.

Is it the same as Kris Kringle or a gift exchange?

Yes. Kris Kringle is the common name in Australia, Ireland and parts of the US; “gift exchange” or “name draw” is used elsewhere. The rules are the same, and so is this tool.