Secret Santa Generator

How the Secret Santa generator works

A Secret Santa is a gift exchange where everyone draws one name and buys a gift for that person without telling anyone. This Secret Santa generator does the drawing of names for you and hands out the results through private links, so nobody has to meet up around a hat. There are no accounts, the tool never asks for email addresses, and nothing is stored on a server.

You list the people taking part, add any rules, and the tool draws who gives to whom. In math terms the draw is a derangement: a shuffle in which nobody lands on their own name. The shuffle uses the cryptographic random number generator in your browser, and a shuffle is only kept if it follows every rule, so every valid draw has exactly the same chance. When the rules are so tight that random shuffles rarely fit, the tool counts out every valid draw and picks one at random instead, which is just as fair.

If no draw is possible, you get the reason in plain words, such as "Anna and Ben can only draw Chloe between them". Two people cannot both buy for the same person, so one of their exclusions has to go, or the group needs more people.

Rules you can set

• Exclusions: pick two people who must not draw each other. Use them for couples and housemates who buy for each other anyway, for parents and their kids, or for last year's pairs so everyone gets someone new. An exclusion always works in both directions.
• No mutual pairs: stops two people from drawing each other, so the exchange does not split into little swaps of two.
• One big circle: everyone ends up in a single loop. Anna gives to Ben, Ben to Chloe and so on until the last person gives to Anna. This is nice for opening gifts one after another: whoever just received a gift hands over theirs next, and the chain only ends when everyone has had a turn. With three or more people, one big circle also rules out mutual pairs.

How the private links work

Every person gets their own link. It holds the event details and one single pair: who this person buys for and that person's wishlist line. Opening it shows a greeting with the person's name and a wrapped gift. Only after a tap on Unwrap my name does the name appear, so a coworker glancing at the phone sees nothing. Hide it again wraps it back up.

The details sit after the # sign in the link. Browsers keep that part on the device and do not send it to the web server when the page loads, which is why the tool works without any server or database. The details are scrambled with a random key, so nobody can read a name just by looking at the link.

Here is the honest part: scrambling is not encryption. The organizer could open someone else's link and see their pair. If you organize and take part yourself, turn on Organizer does not look. The pairs are then never shown on screen and the CSV file only contains names and links. Send the links without opening them, and the surprise stays a surprise for you too.

How to run a Secret Santa

At the office

• Make it opt in. Some coworkers cannot afford it, do not celebrate Christmas or just prefer to skip it, and that should be fine.
• Keep the budget low and set one exact number, so nobody feels outspent.
• Pick an exchange date when most people are in, such as the week before the holidays, and send the links two or three weeks ahead.
• Ask everyone for one wishlist line. Even "no candles, I love tea" saves a lot of guessing.

With family

• Exclude couples and anyone who already gives each other big presents.
• Add last year's pairs as exclusions so the gifts move around the family.
• Kids often get presents from everyone anyway. If they join the draw, a separate kids' draw with its own budget keeps things simple.

Online or with remote friends

• Agree on a ship-by date that leaves room for slow holiday mail, and say whether shipping counts toward the budget.
• Have Santas ask the organizer for their giftee's address instead of putting addresses in the wishlist line.
• Open the gifts together on a video call. One big circle gives the call a natural order.

Rule ideas that make it more fun

• A theme: something handmade, a book you loved, something local, or something that fits in a mug.
• A guessing round: everyone guesses who their Santa was before the reveal.
• Something you want, something to read: two small gifts instead of one bigger one.
• No gift cards, or the opposite: gift cards only, for groups that prefer practical gifts.

Budget tips

The right budget is the one everyone in the group can afford without thinking twice. These amounts are a starting point, not a rule:

Write the budget as one number, like $25, instead of a range. Ranges tend to drift to the top. A low budget is not a problem: it pushes people toward creative, personal gifts, which are often the ones people remember.

How to use the Secret Santa generator

1. 1Add everyone taking part, one per row, with an optional wishlist line. To paste a list from a chat or a spreadsheet, use Paste a list of names. You need at least 3 people and can add up to 100.
2. 2Add exclusions for couples or last year's pairs, and turn on One big circle or No mutual pairs if you want them.
3. 3Enter the event name, budget, gift exchange date and a short message. They appear on every private link.
4. 4Send each person their own link with the Copy, Text (or Share, where your browser offers it) or Email button next to their name, or use Copy all links and paste them one by one. Taking part yourself? Turn on Organizer does not look first.
5. 5Keep the organizer link, so you can resend a lost link later without drawing again.

Frequently asked questions