Secret Santa name generator
Draw names without being the one who knows
Two minutes to set up, then stop spending December chasing people. It draws the names, keeps partners apart, and emails everyone their person in that person’s own language.
No payment of any kind. You need an account so you can come back and change the draw — the people you invite never do.
- Ada Ben
- Ben Chloé
- Chloé Hidden
Each person is emailed their own name and nobody else’s.
For the organiser
Three steps, then forget about it
Everything after setup happens by email. This is the screen you spend your time in — and most years you will not need to open it twice.
-
Create the exchange
A name, a date and a suggested budget. Everything else can change later.
-
Add the people
One at a time or from a CSV. Say who must not draw whom, and the draw respects it both ways.
-
Draw and send
Everyone gets an email with the name they drew and that person’s wish already in it.
Nobody draws their own name. Not unlikely — impossible.
The draw builds one closed chain, so everyone gives once and receives once, and the result is checked before it is saved. If your exclusions make a draw impossible, the page names the person with nobody left to give to and offers the smallest change that unblocks it.
What else it handles
-
Nobody draws their partner
Set an exclusion once and it blocks the pairing both ways round.
-
Reminders that cannot turn into spam
You see exactly who would get each nudge before switching it on, and nobody is emailed more than twice a week.
-
It remembers last year
Run the same exchange next December and it avoids repeating the pairs it made before.
-
Wishes worth reading
A dash starts a list and a link on its own line becomes a card. The linked page is never fetched, so nobody learns what you were browsing.
-
Guests never sign up
One link, no password. They say yes or no, write a wish if they feel like it, and nobody is told who declined.
-
Five languages, per person
A French guest gets a French email with a French date even when you are working in English.
For your guests
Almost nothing to do
They get an email with one link, say yes or no, and write a line about what they would like. No account, no app and no password for anyone but you. Every reminder carries a link that switches reminders off for that address everywhere, without logging in.
- Anything for the kitchen
- A novel — not a thriller
- A link to my list
Plainly
We would rather say this plainly than claim a secrecy we have not built.
-
Can you see who drew whom?
Yes, if you choose to look. Pairs are hidden by default so you cannot spoil your own exchange, but you can reveal them — and so could anyone with access to the database. If you want to be surprised too, get someone else to press the button.
-
Who can see the wishes?
Everyone in the same exchange shares one wishlist page. If you would rather each person only changed their own, there is a setting for it and everyone gets a private link.
-
What we keep
Names, email addresses and whatever people write as their wish. Nothing else, and nothing sold or shared. Delete an exchange and all of it goes with it.
-
Why it is free
It is a side project rather than a business. No paid tier, no trial, no card, no affiliate links and no sponsored gift suggestions.
Before you start
Questions people ask
-
Is it really free?
Yes. No payment, no card, no paid tier, no limits held back for later.
-
Do the people I invite need an account?
No. They click a link in an email, say yes or no, and optionally write a wish. They never choose a password and never see a sign-up form.
-
How many people do I need?
Two who have confirmed is enough for a draw, though three or more is where it starts being fun. There is no upper limit.
-
Can I stop two people drawing each other?
Yes. Add an exclusion for the pair and it is blocked in both directions. Add as many as you like — and if they make the draw impossible, the page will tell you which one to relax.
-
What happens to my data afterwards?
It stays until you delete the exchange, and then it is gone — participants, addresses, wishes and pairings together. Nothing is sold, shared or used to advertise to anybody.
Free, always
Ready to draw?
About two minutes to set up, and you can add the people later.