How does a Secret Santa generator work?

You enter the names and the generator pairs everyone at random, so nobody draws themselves and your exclusions hold. Then each person gets a link that shows only the one name they're buying for.

Do I need an account or everyone's email?

No. No account, no email addresses, no phone numbers. The draw runs in your browser.

Can the organizer play without knowing the matches?

Yes. Check “I take part in the draw myself” and no organizer backup link or group link is made, so each match is known only to the person who gets that link. If you're not playing, you get a backup link that shows every match — keep it to yourself.

Can I keep couples from drawing each other?

Yes, and the rule can go both ways or one way only — handy when Sam drew Alex last year but not the other way around.

Someone joined after the draw. Do we start over?

No. Add them from the backup link; at most two links change and everyone else's link still works. If you played too, there's no backup link, so the only option is a fresh draw.

Can the reveal wait until a set day?

Yes. Set a reveal time and the link shows a countdown until then. It's a simple lock in the browser, not a password, but it stops casual peeking. You can also add the reveal time to your calendar with an .ics file.

Is the link encrypted?

No — the match is only masked so it can't be read at a glance. Send each link only to the person it's for.

What's the difference between Secret Santa and White Elephant?

In Secret Santa you buy for one drawn name. In White Elephant everyone brings one gift to a shared pile and players take turns picking or stealing.

Draw Secret Santa names and text everyone their own link

Type the names, tap a budget and an exchange date, and text each person a link that shows only who they're buying for. There's no account to make and no email list to collect, and the draw never lands on a server: each match lives only inside its own link, so there's nothing to delete in January.

1 · Who's in?

Who is drawing?

I take part in the draw myselfYou do not draw: your organiser link will show every pair, so you can help if someone loses theirs.Name of your exchange (optional)

Person 1Wish or hint (optional)
Wishlist (optional)
Please don't give
Household (optional)
Person 2Wish or hint (optional)
Wishlist (optional)
Please don't give
Household (optional)
Person 3Wish or hint (optional)
Wishlist (optional)
Please don't give
Household (optional)

People with the same household name never draw each other.

We send the gifts by post

Or paste a list — one name per line or separated by commas.

Paste names

2 · Budget, date and rules

Spending limit

Exchange date

Note for everyone (optional)Open the names at (optional)

Before this moment the reveal page shows a countdown instead of the name. This is a soft lock only: the name is already inside the link, so someone who knows how to read it could peek earlier.

Who can't draw whom?

Couples, roommates or last year's pairs. Both ways: neither will draw the other.

How the presents go round

Any drawEveryone gets someone else; two people may happen to draw each other.No swapsOne big circle

Avoid last year's pairs

Paste last year's organiser backup link. Nobody will be given the same person as last year.

Last year's backup link

3 · Send everyone their link

Organiser-blind modeNo backup link, no group link, no printed slips, no pass-the-phone: this page never shows who drew whom, not even to you. Each personal link is shown once. You still hold the links while you send them, so open only your own.

How private is it? In the normal mode the organiser's backup link and the group link can decode every pair; the scrambling only stops casual peeking and is not encryption. Use organiser-blind mode if even the organiser shouldn't be able to see them.

Nothing is stored on any server: the draw lives only in the links, so there is nothing to delete afterwards.

4 · Print

Drawing names from a hat, or want everything on paper? These are made in your browser and need no draw.

Draw the names first, then print the slips.

Number draw: everyone brings a wrapped present

For a gift exchange without names: each person brings one wrapped present, the presents get numbers, and everyone takes home the number they draw. Nobody gets their own present.

How many people bring a present?

Classroom Secret Santa

Three steps

1
Who's in
Type the names or paste a list. Pick the group — family, friends, coworkers, class — for a matching budget suggestion. Organizing and playing too? Check “I take part in the draw myself” and even you won't see the matches.
2
Budget, date, wishes
Tap a budget and a date or type your own. Keep couples, housemates or last year's pairs apart — one-way works too. Everyone can leave up to 5 wishes, each with a link or a size.
3
Send the links
Each person gets a link and a ready-to-paste message. Check off who you've sent it to so nobody's left out. Or print folded slips, or pass one phone around the room.

What email-based tools do differently

The big Secret Santa sites ask for every participant's email address and send the matches and reminders by mail. That means collecting addresses first, then hoping nobody's match lands in spam. Several also want the organizer to create an account.

Forum threads and developer notes keep coming back to the same few snags with those services: emails that never arrive, a late joiner who forces a redo, and an organizer who can see every match.

Newer no-email tools often keep the draw on their own server and delete it later — one we tested deletes it 30 days after the exchange date. Here there's nothing to delete, because nothing is stored.

What we can't do without a server: tell you whether someone has opened their link. That's why you get “sent” checkmarks instead; they stay on your phone.

Secret Santa questions

How does a Secret Santa generator work?: You enter the names and the generator pairs everyone at random, so nobody draws themselves and your exclusions hold. Then each person gets a link that shows only the one name they're buying for.
Do I need an account or everyone's email?: No. No account, no email addresses, no phone numbers. The draw runs in your browser.
Can the organizer play without knowing the matches?: Yes. Check “I take part in the draw myself” and no organizer backup link or group link is made, so each match is known only to the person who gets that link. If you're not playing, you get a backup link that shows every match — keep it to yourself.
Can I keep couples from drawing each other?: Yes, and the rule can go both ways or one way only — handy when Sam drew Alex last year but not the other way around.
Someone joined after the draw. Do we start over?: No. Add them from the backup link; at most two links change and everyone else's link still works. If you played too, there's no backup link, so the only option is a fresh draw.
Can the reveal wait until a set day?: Yes. Set a reveal time and the link shows a countdown until then. It's a simple lock in the browser, not a password, but it stops casual peeking. You can also add the reveal time to your calendar with an .ics file.
Is the link encrypted?: No — the match is only masked so it can't be read at a glance. Send each link only to the person it's for.
What's the difference between Secret Santa and White Elephant?: In Secret Santa you buy for one drawn name. In White Elephant everyone brings one gift to a shared pile and players take turns picking or stealing.