Put in the names, hand out the links. Nobody sees the whole list — not even you

How to run a draw

1. Type everyone's name in the box, one per line. A draw needs at least 3 people and takes up to 40. Names must be unique — if two people share a first name, add a surname or an initial, otherwise the tool stops and asks you to.
2. Optionally add a budget. It is printed on every person's link, so nobody has to ask "how much are we spending?" afterwards.
3. Press Draw names. You get one line per person with their private link and a Copy button next to it.
4. Send each link to that person only, through whatever chat you already use. Copy all links puts the whole list on your clipboard as "Name: link" lines, which is handy for pasting one at a time into direct messages — just don't paste the whole thing into the group chat.
5. Each person opens their link, taps Reveal, and sees who they are buying for, plus the budget if you set one.

Why a hat does not work any more

Drawing names from a hat needs everyone in one room at the same time, and it fails in a specific way: whoever draws last often gets their own name, and then the whole thing restarts. Doing it by group chat is worse, because one person ends up knowing every pairing and quietly ruins the surprise for themselves.

This tool gives each person a private link. You send them out without opening them, and each link reveals only that one person's match. The organiser gets to be surprised too, which is the part most Secret Santa generators quietly give up on.

Nobody can draw their own name

The names are shuffled and then arranged in a single loop — Alex buys for Sam, Sam buys for Jordan, and the last person buys for Alex. Two useful things fall out of that. Nobody can be assigned to themselves, and no two people are paired with each other, so you never get the deflating "we just swapped" outcome. It also means everyone is both a giver and a receiver exactly once.

Nothing is stored anywhere

The draw happens in your browser and the result lives only in the links you copy. There is no account, no email collection, and no database holding your friends' names. If you lose the links, the draw is genuinely gone — so send them out before closing the tab, or draw again.

Rules worth agreeing on first

Most Secret Santas go wrong on expectations rather than logistics. Set a budget and say whether it is a ceiling or a target — "around £20" and "no more than £20" produce very different presents. Agree a hard date for the exchange, and decide in advance whether homemade counts (it usually should). If your group has couples or housemates in it, be aware they may draw each other; if that would spoil things, run separate draws for each half of the group.

Getting a gift for someone you barely know

The safest presents are consumable or specific. Something good to eat or drink, a nice version of a thing they use daily, or anything tied to a hobby you have actually heard them mention beats a generic novelty gift. Avoid clothing sizes, strong scents, and anything that requires them to have taste identical to yours. If you genuinely have nothing, ask one of their close friends rather than guessing — the whole group would rather you asked.

Frequently asked questions

Can I redo the draw?

Yes — Draw again shuffles a fresh loop. Links from the earlier draw still open and still show the old match, because the pairing is carried inside the link itself. So if you redraw, make sure everyone gets a link from the new list and throws the old one away.

Can I stop couples from drawing each other?

Not with an exclusion rule — every draw is one shuffled loop, and there are no settings for who may not draw whom. The workaround is the one described above: split the group and run two draws. Redrawing until you are happy doesn't work here either, because you never see the pairings yourself.

How private are the links?

Each link contains the giver's name and the recipient's name in an encoded (not encrypted) form. It isn't readable at a glance, but anyone who has the link can open it, so send links individually rather than posting them where the whole group can see.

Someone lost their link. Now what?

If you still have the results tab open, copy their line again. If the tab is gone, the draw is gone with it — draw again and send out the new set to everyone.

Related tools

• Spin the Wheel — pick who hosts, or who opens their present first.
• Ladder Lottery — another fair way to hand out chores or the gift-opening order.
• Day Counter — count down to the exchange date.