Invite for the group chat
🎄 Secret Santa time! Who's in? Reply here by [date] and I'll run the draw. 💰 Budget: [amount] 📅 Gift exchange: [date and place] You'll each get a private link with your person. Open only your own and keep it secret 🤫
Secret Santa generator
Add everyone's names, keep couples apart and draw. Each person gets a private link that shows only their own match, or you reveal it on one phone you pass around. Free, with no sign-up.
Who gives to whom
Only open your own link. Each link reveals one person's match, so keep yours to yourself.
Results use your browser's secure random generator. Nothing is sent to our servers.
Secret Santa generator at a glance
- Sign-up
- None. No account, app or participant emails.
- Results
- One private link per person by WhatsApp, email or any chat, or reveal on one phone.
- Exclusions
- Yes, both ways (couples, siblings).
- Budget and date
- Yes, shown on every link with the event name.
- Wish lists and saved groups
- No. Matches live inside the links; nothing is stored on a server.
- Price
- Free.
How to draw names for Secret Santa
It takes a minute, even for a big group.
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1. Add the participants
Type or paste one name per line. If two people share a first name, add an initial: Sam K. and Sam R.
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2. Keep couples apart (optional)
Under “Who shouldn't draw each other”, write one pair per line, like Ava = Ben. Neither will draw the other, so partners or siblings who already swap gifts get someone new.
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3. Add the details (optional)
Give the exchange a name, a gift budget and a date. They appear on every private link, so nobody has to ask twice.
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4. Draw
Tap Draw Secret Santa. Everyone gets exactly one person to buy for, nobody draws themselves and every pair you excluded is respected.
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5. Share the results privately
Choose Send private links and send each person their link on WhatsApp, by email or in any chat. All in one room? Choose Reveal on this device and pass the phone around: each person taps Reveal next to their name, then Hide.
Private links: each person sees only their match
After the draw you get one link per person. When someone opens theirs, a gift box unwraps and shows the one name they're buying for, plus the budget and date if you added them. Nobody else's match is shown.
The match is stored inside the link itself, not on our servers. There's no account and no saved list of your group. Anyone holding a link can open it, so send each link only to its owner.
The organizer can play too: send the links without opening them and find out your own match like everyone else.
A Secret Santa generator with no email needed
Many Secret Santa websites ask for every participant's email address. This one needs none. Email is just one option: the Email button opens your own email app with the message ready, and Send on WhatsApp does the same in WhatsApp. For Slack, Teams or a text message, tap Copy link and paste it there.
What this Secret Santa generator does
- Nobody draws themselves
- Each person gives one gift and receives one gift, and no one ever ends up with their own name.
- Exclusions both ways
- Write Ava = Ben and Ava won't draw Ben, and Ben won't draw Ava. For three siblings, add one line per pair.
- Budget and date on every link
- The event name, budget and exchange date travel with each link, so everyone sees the same rules.
- Fair and random
- Names are matched with your browser's secure random generator, and every valid arrangement is equally likely.
Ready-to-send Secret Santa messages and rules
Copy, fill in the brackets and paste into the group.
Office Secret Santa rules
Our Secret Santa rules 1. Spend about [amount], not more. 2. Keep your person secret until the exchange. 3. Bring your gift wrapped, with the recipient's name on it, by [date]. 4. Keep it work-friendly: no gifts that could embarrass anyone. 5. Lost your link? Message the organizer privately, not the group. 6. Can't take part after the draw? Say so right away so we can redraw.
Reminder one week before
⏰ One week to go! Secret Santa is on [date] at [place]. Budget: [amount]. Lost your link? Message me privately 🎁
Kris Kringle, office Secret Santa and other gift exchanges
Kris Kringle is what many Australians call Secret Santa. The draw is the same, so this works as a Kris Kringle generator too.
Office Secret Santa runs best with a fixed budget, a date before people go on leave and exclusions for colleagues who already swap gifts. Remote teams can share links in Slack or Teams.
White elephant (or Yankee swap) needs no name draw: everyone brings one wrapped gift and picks in turn, with the option to steal. Use the random number picker to set the order.
Secret Santa generator FAQ
Is this Secret Santa generator free?
Yes. It runs in your browser, costs nothing and needs no account, app or email address.
Do participants need an email address?
No. Send each link on WhatsApp, paste it into any chat or text, or reveal the results on one device. Email is optional. Wish lists can go in the group chat.
Can the organizer play without knowing the matches?
Yes. Send the links without opening them and don't tap Reveal. Each link shows one person's match, so if everyone opens only their own, nobody sees the full list.
How do I stop couples or siblings drawing each other?
Add each pair on its own line in the exclusions box, like Ava = Ben. The rule works both ways. For three siblings, write all three pairs. If the exclusions make a draw impossible, the tool tells you.
Can two people draw each other?
Yes, it can happen: Ava draws Ben while Ben draws Ava. That's a normal random result. If those two shouldn't be matched at all, exclude the pair.
Does it work with an odd number of people?
Yes. Any group of two or more works, odd or even: each person gives to one person and receives from another.
Someone lost their link. What now?
Resend it from the chat or email where you shared it. We don't keep a copy, so if the links are gone, run a new draw and send everyone a new link.
How do I redo the draw if someone drops out?
Remove the name, draw again and send new links to everyone, asking them to ignore the old ones. A new draw changes all the matches, not just one.
Does it have wish lists or saved groups?
No. There's no account, so nothing is saved: each match lives inside its private link. Share wish lists in your group chat. If you want built-in wish lists, reminders or a group that carries over to next year, a sign-up service fits better.
Running a giveaway on Instagram too?
Gifty is also an iPhone app that picks random winners from the comments on a public Instagram post or reel, with no Instagram login. It's free to download and each draw uses one credit. See how Gifty works.
