Free Secret Santa generator

Type the names, tap Draw, and the generator picks a random match for everyone. Each person gets a private link to open by text, WhatsApp or the group chat. Couples can be kept apart, and the organizer never sees who drew whom.

How it works

Send the links by text, WhatsApp or the group chat

Other generators want an email address for every person, which means chasing down Grandma's email and then hearing that it went to spam. This one gives you links instead. Each is labeled with a name, so you can text them one at a time or paste the whole list into the family WhatsApp and let everyone open their own. A link shows one name behind a Reveal button, plus the budget and date you set, so nobody has to scroll back through the chat for the details. Your organizer page shows who has opened theirs, which is how you know who to nudge.

Why a wheel or a random number generator falls short

A spinner wheel picks one name at a time, in front of whoever is holding the phone, so there's no secret. It can land on the spinner's own name, and nothing stops a couple from drawing each other after you said they couldn't. A random number generator has the same problems plus a spreadsheet, and the person running it ends up knowing every match. A Secret Santa generator does the whole draw at once, checks the rules, and hides the result from everyone, including you.

How the random draw works

The generator shuffles the list of names, then checks two things: nobody drew themselves, and no excluded pair was matched. If either check fails it shuffles again. Every arrangement that passes is equally likely, so the result is as random as names from a hat without the part where someone pulls their own name and everybody has to redraw. With a hat that happens about two times in three. The draw happens once, on our server, and the organizer page never shows the pairs.

Settle these before you draw

Most Secret Santa arguments come from decisions made after the draw. Decide the budget as one number, not a range. Pick the exchange date and work back five weeks for the draw. Decide whether partners can draw each other, and add them as a pair here if not. Then send the links with all three facts in the same message. The full version is in how to run a family Secret Santa, and if you'd rather draw by hand, here's how to do it with a random number generator or a hat without anyone drawing themselves.

Questions people ask

How do you do a random generator for Secret Santa?

Type everyone's first name into the generator above, add any pairs who shouldn't draw each other, and tap Draw names. It shuffles the names at random, throws out any result where someone drew themselves or an excluded pair came up, and hands you one private link per person. Text or WhatsApp each link to its person and they reveal their own match. If you'd rather do it by hand with a random number generator, number the names, generate a random order, and start over whenever a number lands on itself. The generator just does that part for you, and keeps the result from the organizer too.

Is there a free random number generator for Secret Santa?

Yes, this one, and it draws names instead of numbers so there's nothing to map back. It's free, with no signup, email or phone number. A plain random number generator works in a pinch: number the people, generate a shuffled order, and redo any self-match. The catch is that whoever runs the numbers sees every result, which is the one thing a Secret Santa draw is supposed to prevent.

Does the organizer see who drew whom?

No. The organizer gets a page of links, one per person, and nothing else. The only way the organizer learns a match is by opening their own link, like everyone else. If you need a referee who can see everything, that's the Heaps app, where the organizer can choose.

Do people need an email address, phone number or account?

No. Each person gets a private link. Send it by text, WhatsApp, the group chat, or read it out over the phone. Nobody signs up for anything, and we never ask for an email or a number. The only things we store are the first names you typed and who drew whom, so the links keep working.

Can I send the links by text or WhatsApp?

Yes, that's how it's meant to work. After the draw you get a list of links, one labeled with each person's name, and a copy button. Text each link to its person, or paste the whole list into the WhatsApp or iMessage group and let people open their own. Each link reveals one name and shows the budget and date, so nobody has to scroll back for the details.

Is this a Secret Santa wheel?

No, and that's on purpose. A spinner wheel picks one name at a time in front of everyone, can land on the spinner's own name, and can't keep couples apart. This generator does the whole draw in one go, checks every rule, and shows each person only their own match. If you want a wheel for picking turn order at a white elephant, any spinner works for that, since there's nothing to keep secret.

Can I stop couples from drawing each other?

Yes. Add them under "Can't draw each other" before you draw. You can add as many pairs as you like, as long as a valid draw is still possible. With three people and one excluded pair there's no valid draw, and the page will tell you.

What if someone drops out after the draw?

Don't redraw, because everyone who already looked would have to un-know their match. Instead, whoever had the dropout buys for whoever the dropout was buying for. Ask the dropout who they drew, pass it along, and nobody else is affected.

How many people can I add?

Three to 60. Past that, a text thread stops being a good way to run anything, and the Heaps app handles big groups with invite codes instead of links.

Is it free, and what do you do with the names?

Free, no catch. We store first names and the matches so the links keep working until next Christmas, and nothing else. No emails, no tracking of who clicked what beyond whether a link has been opened, so the organizer can nudge the stragglers.

Can everyone see each other's wishlists too?

Not here. That's the whole reason the Heaps app exists: everyone keeps a list, you draw names once everyone's in, and each person sees their match's list next to the name. The generator is the hat. The app is the hat plus the lists.

Want the wishlists too?

Heaps is the hat plus the lists. Everyone in the family keeps a list, you draw names in the app, and each person sees their match's list next to the name. Free on iPhone.