Free · no sign-up · no emails · runs in your browser
Kris Kringle generator: draw names in a minute
Add the names, keep partners apart, set a price limit and a date, then send each person a private link by text or WhatsApp. No sign-up, no email address, and the names never leave your phone: each person's pair lives only inside their own link. Kris Kringle is the same game many people call Secret Santa.
1 · Who's in?
Or paste a list: one name per line, or separated by commas.
2 · Budget, date and rules
Who can't draw whom?
Partners, housemates or last year's pairs. It works both ways: neither will draw the other.
3 · Send everyone their name
How it works
1
Add everyone
Type the names or paste a list from the work chat or the family group. Name your Kris Kringle if you like; it shows on every link.
2
Set the rules
Choose a price limit in dollars, the date, a short note, and any pairs who shouldn't draw each other, like partners or housemates.
3
Send the links
Each person gets their own link by text or WhatsApp, showing only the name they buy for. Or print folded slips, or pass one phone around the table.
Kris Kringle rules that keep everyone happy
- Agree the price limit before the draw and stick to it. The usual gripe is one person blowing the budget while everyone else stayed under.
- Keep it secret until the day. If you need an idea or a size, ask the organiser or a mutual mate instead of the person.
- Use the note for allergies, 'no alcohol', or 'no gift cards', so the present suits the person.
- Say how gifts get handed over: wrapped with a name tag, left under the tree, or opened together at the end-of-year party.
- If someone drops out after the draw, the organiser redoes it from the backup link and everyone gets a new link.
Kris Kringle at work and at school
In Australia a Kris Kringle is a regular part of the end-of-year run at workplaces, schools and sports clubs. Everyone draws one name, buys one gift and hands it over at the Christmas lunch or the last day before the break.
At work, make joining optional and say so. Some people are tight on money, some don't celebrate and some prefer to keep things low-key. A clear price limit that the whole group agreed on keeps it fair for everyone.
Timing matters in summer. The party often falls in the last week or two before shutdown, and people take leave, so run the draw a few weeks early and give a clear deadline. Staff on different shifts or sites can still take part, because the draw works through a private link.
At school, teachers usually set the limit and the class draws names together. A printed folded slip is a handy option for classrooms without phones, and parents can see the limit in the note.
Keep gifts suitable for anyone: a nice treat, a practical thing for the beach or the office, or a small plant. Avoid jokes at someone's expense, and check the note for dietary needs.
Questions about Kris Kringle
- What is a Kris Kringle?
- It is the Australian name for Secret Santa. Everyone's name goes into a draw and each person secretly gets one other person to buy a present for, within a price limit the group agrees. Gifts are handed over at a party or on a set day.
- Is this Kris Kringle generator really free, with no sign-up?
- Yes. There are no accounts, no email addresses and no phone numbers. The draw happens in your browser and each person's pair travels only inside their own link.
- How much should a Kris Kringle gift cost?
- That is for your group to decide. Type the dollar amount into the price limit box and it shows on every link.
- Can I stop partners or housemates drawing each other?
- Yes. Add the pair under 'Who can't draw whom?'. It works both ways, and if the exclusions make a fair draw impossible the tool tells you.
- Will the organiser see who has whom?
- Not unless they open someone else's link or the backup link. An organiser who wants to join in opens only their own link.
- What if someone loses their link?
- Keep the organiser's backup link. It restores this exact draw so you can resend one person's link. It shows everything, so keep it to yourself.
- Is a Kris Kringle the same as Secret Santa?
- Basically yes. Both mean drawing one name and buying one gift for that person. Kris Kringle is the term commonly used in Australia, and Secret Santa is used too.
- Can we do it with a team on different shifts or sites?
- Yes. Everyone gets their own link by text or WhatsApp, so nobody has to be in the same room. Agree a deadline and where the gifts are left.