Holidays / 02
Secret Santa Generator
Draw names for a Secret Santa gift exchange and send each person a private link that shows only who they are buying for, with rules for couples, a budget, and a date, and no sign-up.
Secret Santa Generator: The page draws the names with your browser's cryptographic random numbers, keeping only draws in which nobody gets themselves or someone they are paired with, so every fair draw is equally likely. Each person's result is encrypted into their own link, so the organiser can run the draw without seeing who has whom. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
- Category
- Home & family tools
- Runs
- In your browser
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
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Running a smooth exchange
Set the budget before the draw and put it in the links, so nobody spends far more or far less than the others. Choose the exchange date early too: people buying online need two or three weeks. A short note in the links, such as whether gifts should be wrapped and labelled, saves a round of questions.
For a group that meets in person, the links are simplest sent one by one in a private message. For a group that does not, ask everyone to add their postcode or a wish list to a shared document, so whoever drew them knows where to send the gift and what they would like.
When the group is small or tangled
With three or four people, rules quickly run out of room. Among three, a single rule already leaves no possible draw: if Ana and Ben may not draw each other, both would have to draw Chloé. Among four, two couples leave each person only two others to choose from. If the page reports that no draw fits, drop a rule or add a person. For a quick random pick without gifts, the wheel or the list picker does the job, and a countdown to the exchange keeps everyone on time.
How to use it
- Add everyone taking part, and any pairs who should not draw each other.
- Set a budget, a date, and a note if you like, then draw the names.
- Send each person their own link; when they open it, they see only who they drew.
Privacy & limitations
There is no account and no server: names and results never reach TOEA. Each pairing is encrypted inside its link, with the key after the # sign, which browsers do not send to any website. The list of names is kept in this browser so you can draw again; the results are not.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Can the organiser see who drew whom?
Not on this page: the results are only inside the links. The organiser could still open someone else's link, so to stay surprised, send the links without opening them. Anyone who receives a link sees only their own draw.
How do I stop couples drawing each other?
Add a rule for each pair under "Who should not draw each other". Rules work both ways. If the rules leave someone with nobody to draw, the page says so, rather than quietly breaking a rule.
What if someone drops out after the draw?
Draw again with the new list and send everyone their new link, since one person leaving changes who others have drawn. Tell people to ignore their first link.
Is the draw really random?
Yes. Names are shuffled with the browser's cryptographic random number generator, and a shuffle is kept only if it follows every rule, which gives every valid draw the same chance. Nobody, including the organiser, can steer it.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required