Free · no sign-up · no emails · runs in your browser
Secret Santa generator: draw names in a minute
Add the names, keep partners apart, set a spending 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. Some Kiwis call the same game Kris Kringle.
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, flatmates 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 whānau group. Name your Secret Santa if you like; it shows on every link.
2
Set the rules
Choose a spending limit in dollars, the date, a short note, and any pairs who shouldn't draw each other, like partners or flatmates.
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.
Secret Santa rules that keep everyone happy
- Agree the spending 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 friend 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 function.
- If someone drops out after the draw, the organiser redoes it from the backup link and everyone gets a new link.
Secret Santa at work, school and the flat in a summer Christmas
In New Zealand Christmas falls in early summer, and the end-of-year function, the last day of term or a barbecue with the flat or whānau is a natural moment for a gift swap. Everyone draws one name, buys one gift and hands it over on the day. The tool only draws names, so it suits any date: put it in the note.
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 limit that the whole group agreed on keeps it fair. What the limit should be is for your group to decide; the example in the box is only a suggestion.
Summer holidays make timing tricky. Many people take leave in the weeks before Christmas, so run the draw early and give a clear deadline. Staff on different sites or on remote days can still join, 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 handy for classrooms without phones, and parents can see the limit in the note.
Kris Kringle is the same game under another name, so people searching for either will find the right tool here.
Questions about Secret Santa
- How does Secret Santa work?
- Everyone's name goes into a draw and each person secretly gets one other person to buy a present for, within a spending limit the group agrees. Gifts are handed over at a party or on a set day.
- Is this Secret Santa 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.
- Is Kris Kringle the same as Secret Santa?
- Basically yes. Both mean drawing one name and buying one gift for that person. Some people in New Zealand say Kris Kringle, others say Secret Santa, and the tool works the same either way.
- How much should a Secret Santa gift cost?
- That is for your group to decide. Type the dollar amount into the spending limit box and it shows on every link.
- Can I stop partners or flatmates 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.
- Can we do it with a team on different 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.