Free · no sign-up · no e-mails · runs in your browser
Secret Santa generator: draw names in a minute
Add the names, keep couples apart, set a budget and a date — then send each person a private link by WhatsApp or text. Nobody has to sign up or give an e-mail, and the names never leave your phone: each person's pair lives only inside their own link.
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?
Couples, roommates or last year's pairs. Both ways: neither will draw the other.
3 · Send everyone their link
How it works
Step 1
Add everyone
Type the names or paste a list. Give your exchange a name if you like — it shows on every link.
Step 2
Set the rules
A spending limit, the date, a short note, and the pairs who shouldn't draw each other — couples, roommates, last year's match.
Step 3
Send the links
Each person gets their own link by WhatsApp or text. It shows only the name they buy for. Or print folded slips, or pass one phone around the room.
Secret Santa rules that keep everyone happy
- Agree on a spending limit before the draw and stick to it, so nobody ends up spending far more than the rest.
- Keep it secret until the exchange. If you need to ask about likes or sizes, ask a mutual friend or family member without giving the secret away.
- Put a short wish or a 'please no' in the note: allergies, no alcohol, no scented things. It saves a lot of awkward gifts.
- Set the date and say whether gifts come wrapped and labelled with the recipient's name only.
- If someone drops out after the draw, the organizer can redo the draw from the backup link — everyone then gets a new link.
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 gift for. On the exchange day everybody gives and receives one present, usually within an agreed spending limit, and the givers can stay anonymous.
- Is this Secret Santa generator really free and without sign-up?
- Yes. There are no accounts, no e-mail addresses and no phone numbers. The draw happens in your browser, and each person's pair travels only inside their own link.
- Can I stop couples from drawing each other?
- Yes. Add the pair under 'Who can't draw whom?'. The rule works both ways. If the exclusions make a fair draw impossible, the tool tells you which step to change.
- Will the organizer see who has whom?
- Not unless they open someone else's link or the backup link. The list of links only shows whose link is whose. If the organizer wants to play too, they simply open only their own link.
- What if someone loses their link?
- Keep the organizer's backup link. Opening 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 in person, without sending links?
- Yes. Print the folded slips — each one has a name on the outside and the person to buy for inside. Or pass one phone around the room and let each person reveal their name in private.
- What's the difference between Secret Santa and a White Elephant exchange?
- In Secret Santa each person buys for one drawn name. In a White Elephant exchange everyone brings one gift for the pile, and players take turns picking or 'stealing' gifts. Gifts that suit anyone work best for both.