Secret Santa online with no email or sign-up
This generator needs no email address, no account and no app. You type the names, press "Draw names", and the draw happens in your own browser — the names are not sent anywhere or stored.
The trade-off is that nobody gets an automatic email with their match. Whoever presses the button sees the full list, so you share the results yourself. Each line has its own copy button, which makes that quick:
- Copy one line, for example "Alex → Sam", and send it to Alex only, as a text, chat message or DM. Repeat for each person.
- Want the organiser to be surprised too? Let someone who isn’t taking part run the draw and send out the messages.
- In a small family draw it is often fine that one person knows — just agree that they keep it to themselves.
How to organise a Secret Santa
- Agree on a spending limit, a date for the gift exchange and whether it’s in person or by post.
- Collect the names of everyone taking part (at least three people).
- Paste the names into the generator, one per line, and draw.
- Send each person only their own match — a private message works well — so the giver stays secret.
- Optionally ask everyone to share a short wish list or a few likes and dislikes.
Draw names online or from a hat?
With paper slips in a hat, somebody often draws their own name and everyone has to start again. The table shows why: only about 37% of random draws are valid, so with five or more people the hat fails almost two times in three. The generator throws away invalid draws for you, so every valid result is equally likely and you get one straight away.
| People | Valid draws | All possible orders | Hat draw works first time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| 4 | 9 | 24 | 37.5% |
| 5 | 44 | 120 | 36.7% |
| 6 | 265 | 720 | 36.8% |
| 8 | 14,833 | 40,320 | 36.8% |
| 10 | 1,334,961 | 3,628,800 | 36.8% |
Valid draws are what mathematicians call derangements (!n). As the group grows, the share approaches 1/e ≈ 36.8%.
Common questions about the draw
- Can two people draw each other? Yes. Alex can buy for Sam while Sam buys for Alex. With four people, 3 of the 9 valid draws are two such swaps; the other 6 form one circle of four.
- What are the odds of drawing a particular person? In a fair draw everyone else is equally likely, so with 6 people you have a 1 in 5 chance of drawing any given colleague.
- Couples or housemates who shouldn’t draw each other? The generator has no exclusion list, so draw again until the result works for your group. With 8 people, a given person draws their partner 1 time in 7.
- Someone joins or drops out after the draw? Draw again with the new list rather than swapping by hand, so nobody learns who has whom.
This generator or a Secret Santa website?
Sign-up Secret Santa websites collect everyone’s email address and then send each person their match automatically; many also handle wish lists and exclusions. That is handy for a large office group that never meets. If you would rather not hand over email addresses, or you just want names drawn now, a generator like this one is faster: draw, copy each line into a private message, done.
How much to spend
Set one clear limit so nobody feels awkward. Office groups and large friend groups often choose a small, round amount, while families sometimes pick a higher limit for fewer, bigger gifts. What matters is that everyone agrees before the draw.
Rules that keep it fun
- Stick to the budget — going far over makes others feel they’ve under-spent.
- Keep it secret until the exchange; reveal who your Santa was afterwards if the group likes.
- Avoid gag gifts that could embarrass someone at work.
- Sign the gift tag with a made-up elf name instead of your own, so the giver stays a mystery until the reveal.
Secret Santa by other names
The same gift draw goes by different names around the world: Kris Kindle in Ireland, Kris Kringle in Australia and Canada, Wichteln or Julklapp in Germany, amigo secreto or amigo invisible in Spain, Portugal and much of Latin America, and nissetrekning in Norway.
Gift ideas that suit most people
- Something edible: good chocolate, coffee, tea or a local speciality.
- Small comforts: warm socks, a candle, a nice mug.
- A book or a card game.
- A gift card for a café or shop the person likes.