Secret Santa generator — no email, a private link for everyone

How the draw works

1. Give the group a name — “Office party” or “Family Christmas” — so everyone recognises it when they open their link.
2. Type the participants, one name per line. You need at least three people; sixty is the limit.
3. Add exclusions if you need them: couples, siblings, or last year’s pairs. “Both ways” means neither of the two can draw the other.
4. Set a budget and the exchange date if you like, and add a short note — where you meet, what kind of gifts.
5. Press Draw names. The draw happens on our server, and you land on the organizer page with a private link for every person.
6. Send each link to its owner — there are WhatsApp, Telegram and copy buttons next to every name. That is the whole job.

When someone opens their link, they see a wrapped gift. One tap unwraps it and shows the name of the person they are giving to, along with that person’s wish list if they have written one. Nobody sees anything else — not even you.

Why it works without email

Most name-drawing tools ask for every participant’s email address and then send the result by mail. That means collecting addresses nobody wanted to share, waiting for messages that land in spam, and one person who “never got it”. Here the result lives behind a private link instead. You already have everyone in a group chat or in your phone — you send the link the same way you would send a photo.

• No email, no phone numbers. We store names, the pairs and the wish lists. Nothing else.
• No sign-up. Neither you nor the participants create an account or install anything.
• Works by text message. A link is just a link: SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams — whatever your group uses.
• Deleted after the holidays. A draw is removed automatically 30 days after the exchange date, or you can delete it yourself in one tap.

Exclusions, budget and wish lists

Exclusions keep the draw fair: a couple who already buy for each other, a manager and their direct report, two people who drew each other last year. Add as many as you need. If the rules leave someone with nobody to give to, the generator tells you which name is stuck instead of producing a broken draw.

The budget appears on every participant’s page, so nobody has to ask in the chat. Write it the way your group talks: “$25”, “under $40”, “something homemade”.

Wish lists are optional. Each person can write a few ideas on their own page; only the person who drew them will see it. A wish list added later still shows up — the page always displays the latest version.

The organizer plays too

The organizer page never shows who drew whom. You get your own private link like everyone else, and you find out your person the same way they do. What you do see is who has already opened their link, so you can nudge the ones who have not. If a link went to the wrong person, press New link: the old one stops working and the page tells the right owner if a link was opened before them.

After the draw: make it a game night

The exchange is more fun with something to do while the gifts are opened. If your group is together — in a room or on a call — try a round of picture bingo with a holiday deck, a team quiz board, or a quick draw-and-guess. Every game opens by link, just like the draw, with no sign-up. More ideas are in our guide to holiday party games.