Type everyone's name into this Secret Santa generator, mark who can't draw whom, and it makes a fair draw in one tap. Nobody draws themselves. Each person gets a private link that shows only their own match, with the budget and the swap day. No accounts or email addresses needed.
Updated by the Frugal Santa elves
North Pole name draw
Three short steps, then one tap. The draw happens right here in your browser, and nobody needs an account or an email address.
Each link shows one person their own match. Send it to that person only, and don't open it yourself.
Your can't-draw pairs left no way to avoid swaps, so two people may have drawn each other.
Drawn your names? Send everyone the Secret Santa questionnaire so each Santa knows what their person likes. Not sure what to wish for yourself? Talk to Santa on a live video call and your wishes come back as a list with store prices.
Each person in the group is secretly matched with one other person to buy a gift for. Nobody knows who drew them until the gifts come out. The classic way is slips of paper in a hat or a bowl: everyone pulls one name and keeps it quiet.
The trouble is the hat. When 10 people draw, the chance that at least one of them pulls their own name is about 63%, and it stays near 63% however big the group gets. Couples make it worse. With 4 couples who shouldn't draw each other, about 88 hat draws in 100 break a rule, and everyone has to fold the slips back up and start over.
A generator does the redrawing for you. It reshuffles in a split second until nobody has their own name or a name they can't draw, then gives each person only their own match.
| Group | Own name drawn | Couples rule broken |
|---|---|---|
| 3 people | 66.7% | Can't all be couples |
| 4 people | 62.5% | 83.3% (2 couples) |
| 6 people | 63.2% | 88.9% (3 couples) |
| 8 people | 63.2% | 88.2% (4 couples) |
| 10 people | 63.2% | 87.9% (5 couples) |
| 12 people | 63.2% | 87.6% (6 couples) |
| 20 people | 63.2% | 87.2% (10 couples) |
Hand out links instead of emails. In the generator above, the organizer types the names, taps Draw names and gets one private link per person. Send each link the way your group already talks: a text, a direct message or a work chat.
When Ana taps her link, she sees who she's buying for, the budget and the swap day, and nothing about anyone else. Her match lives inside the link itself, after the # sign. Browsers don't send that part of a link to a web server, and the draw is saved only in the organizer's own browser. Nobody makes an account or hands over an address list.
One honest catch: the links are coded, not locked. An organizer who decoded one could peek. For a true secret, send the links without opening them, and let each person open only their own. Groups that meet in person can print folded name slips instead.
Secret Santa has one big rule: keep your match a secret until the gifts are opened. The rest are house rules the organizer settles before the draw, so nobody has to guess.
Etiquette expert Jacqui DiNardo, quoted by GOBankingRates, calls sticking to the spending limit the top rule. Type your house rules into the note box above and they ride along on every link.
Pick one round number that the person on the tightest budget is happy with, and agree on it before the draw. Then everyone spends close to it, so the gifts feel even.
For an office swap with no limit set, Elena Brouwer of the International Etiquette Centre calls $20 to $25 reasonable. Ramsey Solutions puts a usual Secret Santa cap at about $10 to $15 a gift. US federal teams have a firm line: the Department of the Interior's ethics office tells its staff to keep office gift exchanges at $10 or less, because federal gift rules make an exception for gifts of $10 or less on occasions when gifts are traditionally given.
If money is tight for anyone, a low cap plus "homemade is welcome" keeps the game fun for all. Type the cap into the budget box and every person's link shows it, so nobody has to ask again.
| Who says | Cap | For |
|---|---|---|
| Ramsey Solutions | About $10 to $15 | A usual Secret Santa |
| Elena Brouwer, International Etiquette Centre | $20 to $25 | An office swap with no limit set |
| US Department of the Interior ethics office | $10 or less | Federal office gift exchanges |
In Secret Santa, each person buys for the one person they drew, so the gift can be chosen just for them. In a white elephant swap, everyone brings one wrapped gift for a shared pile. Players then take turns opening a new gift or stealing one that's already been opened. Nobody knows who will end up with what, so white elephant gifts are usually funny or useful to anyone.
Secret Santa needs a draw days or weeks ahead, so people have time to shop. White elephant needs only a price cap ahead of time: numbers are drawn at the party to set the turn order, and a gift can often be stolen only twice before it's frozen.
Big groups that don't know each other well often like white elephant. Families and friends who want one thoughtful gift each tend to pick Secret Santa. Read the full white elephant rules, or browse more Christmas party games.
| Secret Santa | White elephant | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you buy for | One person you drew | Anyone: the gift goes in a pile |
| Gift style | Personal, picked for them | Funny or useful to anyone |
| Names drawn | Days or weeks before | Turn numbers, at the party |
| Stealing | No | Yes, often up to twice per gift |
| Also called | Kris Kringle, Wichteln, amigo secreto | Yankee swap |
Yes. Add your own name to the list. The generator never shows you the matches on screen; you only see a link for each person. Send yours to yourself and open it like everyone else. Skip the printed slips, though: the print preview shows every match, so ask someone who isn't playing to print them.
The simplest fix: the person who drew the dropout now buys for the dropout's match. That keeps everyone else's link the same. If you'd rather start fresh, tap "Change names and draw again" and send everyone their new link. The draw code on each link shows which draw it came from.
Yes, by hand. Pick any one player, say Ana. The newcomer takes Ana's match, and Ana now buys for the newcomer. Only Ana and the newcomer need to know.
With 2 people, each would draw the other, so there's no secret. From 3 up to 50 names, the generator can keep everyone guessing.
Only in the browser you used, so you can close the page and come back to send the rest. Nothing goes to a server. "Clear everything" wipes it.
A grown-up should run the draw and send the links. Kids love opening their envelope. Kids who want to tell the big man their own wishes can call Santa with a grown-up on a live video call.
Live videoYour Secret Santa will want to know. Tell Santa on a live video call, then get your wishes back as a list with store prices, lowest first. $1 a minute.
Call Santa
Secret Santa questionnaireFill in your favorites and share a card with your Secret Santa.
White elephant rulesThe rules, the steals, and a free host to run your gift swap.
Right left Christmas gameThree pass-the-gift stories, with every LEFT and RIGHT lit up.
Christmas wish listMake, print and share your list, with gift ideas for every age.