Secret Santa FAQ

You type in everyone’s names, add any rules (for example couples who shouldn’t draw each other) and press Draw. The generator randomly assigns each person someone to buy for, so that nobody gets themselves and every rule is followed. You then send each person a private link that shows only their own match. Everything happens in your browser: nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.

No. Names are enough. You share each person’s private link however you like: WhatsApp, a text message, a chat app or by copying it. If you add an email address, it’s only used to open a pre-filled message in your own email app when you press Email; the site itself never sends anything.

Not by accident. The pairs are hidden after the draw, and seeing them takes a deliberate click on “Show all pairs” plus a confirmation. Be aware that the organizer creates every link and could open them, because the details are scrambled inside the link rather than truly encrypted. If the organizer wants to stay fully in the dark, they shouldn’t open other people’s links, or the group can draw paper slips instead.

Open Details next to one partner’s name and choose the other person under “Partner”. Partners can’t draw each other in either direction. For other rules, tick names under “Who can’t … draw?”, for example to stop someone drawing the same person as last year. If the rules leave no possible draw, the generator tells you which people are blocking it.

Yes. Open Details next to a name and fill in their wish list (up to 300 characters: ideas, sizes, things to avoid, even links as text). Their Secret Santa sees it on their reveal page. You can add or change wish lists after the draw too: the pairs stay the same and you just re-send the updated links.

Yes. Press Redraw (or change the people or exclusions and press “Draw again”). Links you already sent will still open the old result, so send everyone their new link and ask them to ignore the old one.

Only on your own device. Your groups are saved in this browser’s local storage so you can come back to them; you can delete one group or everything with one click. Each reveal link carries its details after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server. The site uses Google Analytics to count visits, but it never receives names, emails, wish lists or link contents.

Draw the names here, then press WhatsApp next to each person. WhatsApp opens with a ready-made message containing that person’s private link, and you pick their chat. Send each link in a private chat, not in the group chat, or everyone could open everyone’s match.

Yes. There are no accounts, no paid features and no limits beyond what keeps the tool fast: up to 100 people per group and 20 saved groups per device. Space is reserved on some pages for advertising in the future; there are no ads in the generator form, the results or the reveal page.

That’s fine. Secret Santa doesn’t need pairs: each person gives one gift and receives one gift, and the gifts form loops (Alex buys for Sam, Sam buys for Jo, Jo buys for Alex). Any group of 3 or more works, odd or even.

It works with 3, but be aware that with three people there are only two possible draws: A→B→C→A or the same loop the other way round. As soon as you know who you’re buying for, you can work out the whole loop. Many small groups are fine with that; if not, consider a white elephant or a shared family gift instead.

The simplest fix keeps everyone else’s draw: the person who was buying for the drop-out now buys for whoever the drop-out had drawn. The organizer can look this up with “Show all pairs” and tell that one person privately. If several people drop out, or someone joins, it’s easier to remove or add them and draw again, then send everyone their new link.

Yes. Add them like anyone else. Younger children usually need a parent to open their link and read it to them, or you can print draw slips instead. Agree a budget that suits the children, and consider letting kids buy or make gifts with an adult’s help.

Draw names here and send each link by WhatsApp, text or chat. Set an earlier deadline for posted gifts, and ask people to put any delivery details in a private message rather than in the wish list. Many remote groups open their gifts together on a video call, with each person guessing who their Secret Santa was.

Yes. Nothing about the draw is tied to Christmas: it works for any gift exchange where each person buys for one other person, at any time of year. Use the group name and note to describe your occasion.

Whatever your group agrees on; the most important thing is that everyone knows the same number before shopping. Many groups pick a modest, round amount so nobody feels pressure, often lower at work than among close friends or family. Put the amount in the Budget field and it appears on every reveal.

Three to four weeks before the exchange is a comfortable amount of time for most groups: enough to shop or order online, without people forgetting who they drew. Allow more time if gifts need to be posted to remote members, especially in December.

Check their wish list first. If there isn’t one, choose something useful and impersonal that most people enjoy: a nice drink or snack (mind dietary needs), a desk item, a mug, a plant, stationery or a small book. Avoid very personal items like clothing, perfume or anything that could be awkward at work.

If your group allows them, yes: they’re practical, easy to post and impossible to get “wrong”. Some groups prefer to ban them because they feel less personal. Put your group’s decision in the rules or the note so everyone knows before shopping.

Write the recipient’s name and “From your Secret Santa”. If you want to stay anonymous, print the tag or ask someone else to write it, since handwriting is easy to recognise. Some groups add a riddle or a hint for a fun reveal.

It’s up to the group, so agree in advance. Some groups reveal at the party, often by having people guess their Secret Santa first; others keep it secret forever. If your group hasn’t decided, it’s polite to stay secret unless asked.

Kris Kindle is another name for Secret Santa: the same draw, where each person secretly buys for one other. It’s closely related to Kriss Kringle, an American name for Santa Claus that Merriam-Webster traces to the German Christkindl, meaning “Christ child” and also “Christmas gift”. You can use this generator for a Kris Kindle draw as it is.

Pollyanna is a name some families in the United States use for a Secret Santa–style draw. The word itself comes from the heroine of Eleanor H. Porter’s 1913 novel Pollyanna; how it came to mean a gift exchange isn’t well documented. The rules are the same as Secret Santa, so this generator works for it.

In Secret Santa, everyone is assigned one specific person to buy for, and the giver is usually kept secret. In a white elephant exchange, everyone brings one gift for the pile, then players take turns opening a gift or “stealing” one that’s already been opened. Secret Santa is about a thoughtful gift for one person; white elephant is a party game, often with funny gifts.

Usually when the last player has taken their turn. Many groups then give the first player one final chance to swap, because they had nothing to steal at the start. Groups also limit how many times one gift can be stolen (for example three times), so the game can’t go on forever. Agree the ending rule before you start.