Secret Santa Generator

Draw names for Secret Santa in a minute, with no email and no sign-up. Add the people in your family, office or group of friends, keep couples from drawing each other, set a gift budget and a date, and press Draw names. Everyone gets their own private link that shows only who they are buying for, so you can send the links by WhatsApp, text or email and still take part in your own draw.

How to Draw Names for Secret Santa

1. Add everyone who is playing. Type each name and press Enter, or paste a list from a chat or a spreadsheet. Rows like Ann, [email protected] fill in the email too. Press 🎁 next to a name to add what that person likes.
2. Keep couples apart. Under Exclusion rules, pick two people and add a rule so partners, siblings or roommates never draw each other.
3. Set the budget and date. The budget, the exchange date and your note appear in every person's link, so nobody has to ask you again.
4. Press Draw names. Each person gets a private link. The screen shows only that the links are ready, never who drew whom.
5. Send the links. Use Share or WhatsApp on a phone, Email if you added addresses, or print fold-over cards. Save the links (.txt) before you close the page.

Ways to Send the Names

Why the Organizer Can Play Too

Many name drawers show the whole list to the organizer or email it to them, so whoever runs the exchange already knows the answers. Here each match is stored inside the person's own link, in the part after the # sign, which browsers never send to a website. You create the draw, send the links and open your own without seeing anyone else's.

If you are organizing but not playing, the show me the full chain button under the results shows who buys for whom after a second click, so you can remind anyone who has not bought a gift yet.

Draw Rules

Secret Santa Questions to Ask

A short wish makes the difference between a panic purchase and a gift someone wants. Ask everyone two or three of these and put the answers in their 🎁 gift wish:

• Favorite color
• Favorite snack or treat
• Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?
• Hobbies or a new interest
• Favorite book, show or game
• Clothing or sock size
• Allergies or things you avoid
• Something you never want again
• A small thing you would never buy yourself
• A store or website you love

The person who draws them sees the wish on their reveal page, with a link to get gift ideas that match it and the budget.

Tips for a Gift Exchange People Enjoy

• Draw three or four weeks before the exchange, so there is time for shipping and for anyone who joins late.
• Add the rules before you draw, not after. A new draw means new links for everybody.
• Put the place and time in the note, since most exchanges go wrong on the details, not the names.
• Send each link privately. A link posted in the group chat spoils that person's surprise for everyone.
• Remote team? Ask for a shipping address in the gift wish, or agree on digital gifts and gift cards.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a Secret Santa generator work?

You enter everyone who is taking part and the generator randomly gives each person someone else to buy a gift for. Everybody gives one gift and gets one gift, and nobody draws their own name. Your exclusion rules are checked before the result is accepted.

Can the organizer play without seeing the matches?

Yes. After the draw the screen only shows that each person's link is ready, never who they drew. Each match is hidden inside that person's own link, so you can send the links and open yours without learning anyone else's. If you are not playing, a separate button shows the whole chain.

Can I do Secret Santa without email?

Yes. Emails are optional. Send each person their link through WhatsApp, a text message, Messenger or any chat app with the Share or WhatsApp button, copy it into a private message, or print fold-over cards for a draw in person.

How do I stop couples from drawing each other?

Add an exclusion rule for each couple under Exclusion rules. A two-way rule means neither person can draw the other; a one-way rule blocks only one direction, for example a manager who should not buy for their own team member.

What if someone loses their link?

Save the links with the Save links button right after the draw. If someone loses theirs, open the file and send them their line again. The file lists each person's link, not their match, so you still do not see who they drew.

Someone dropped out after the draw. What now?

Remove them, or add the new person, and press Draw names again. A new draw gives everyone a new match, so send all the new links and tell the group that the old ones no longer count.

How much should a Secret Santa gift cost?

Most groups pick a fixed amount between 10 and 50 dollars, euros or pounds: around 20 to 30 is common for offices and friends. Agree the amount before the draw and put it in the budget field, so it appears in every link.

Is my list of names private?

Yes. The draw runs in your browser. Names, emails and wishes are not sent to miniwebtool, and there is no account. Each match is stored in the part of the link after the # sign, which browsers do not send to any website. Anyone who has a person's link can open it, so send each link only to its owner.

Is the Secret Santa Generator free?

Yes. Drawing names and sending, saving or printing the links is free, with no sign-up.