Secret Santa Generator — No Email, No Signup

Draw Secret Santa names online for free. Add your group, mark who must never draw each other (couples, last year's pairs), then reveal assignments by passing one device around or with encrypted per-person links. Everything runs in your browser — no email, no signup, nothing stored on a server.

1. Add participants

One name per line (max 40). Each person draws exactly one other person.

No names yet.

Add at least 3 participants to draw.

Secret Santa sign-up sheet

Print this questionnaire, collect it at work or family gatherings, and copy the names into the generator above.

🎁 Secret Santa Questionnaire

Group: ____________________ Exchange date: ________________ Spending limit: ____________

Printable Secret Santa sign-up questionnaire
#NameSize (top/shirt)Allergies / dislikes3 gift ideas
1   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
2   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
3   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
4   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
5   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
6   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
7   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
8   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
9   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
10   1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________

Return this sheet to the organizer by the date above. Wishlists help your Secret Santa — be specific!

Free Secret Santa generator with exclusions

This free Secret Santa generator runs entirely in your browser: names, exclusions and assignments never leave your device. There is no email to collect, no signup, and no server that could store or leak your group's draw. Close the tab and the draw is gone — the only copies are the ones you choose to create with the reveal modes.

Unlike a simple shuffled list, the draw honors mutual exclusions: mark couples, siblings or last year's pairs and the generator will never assign them to each other. If a set of exclusions makes a valid draw impossible (try three people with two exclusion pairs), the tool tells you immediately instead of hanging.

How the draw works

The generator shuffles the participant list over and over, rejecting any shuffle where someone draws themselves or an excluded partner. For nearly every real group a valid shuffle appears within a few attempts. If shuffling keeps failing, an exact backtracking solver takes over — it either constructs a valid assignment or proves none exists, which is how impossible constraint sets get reported honestly.

Everyone draws exactly one person and is drawn by exactly one person — a single closed loop of giving, just like drawing names out of a hat, minus the "I drew myself" reshuffles.

Two ways to reveal assignments — hat pass or encrypted links

Single device: pass your phone around. Each person taps their name, taps again to reveal who they're buying for, then hides it and hands the device on. Only one assignment is ever on screen.

Share links: everyone gets a personal URL. The assignment is encrypted with AES-GCM right in the browser and the key travels inside the link's #fragment — the part of a URL that is never sent to a server. Opening the link decrypts and shows exactly one assignment, even in a private window, with no account and no email address anywhere in the process.

Frequently asked questions

How does this Secret Santa generator work?
Type one name per line, optionally tap cells in the exclusion matrix for couples or last-year pairs, then press Draw names. Choose pass-around mode to reveal on one device, or encrypted share links so everyone can open their own assignment privately.
Is it really free with no email and no signup?
Yes — completely free, no email address collected, no account, no limits on group size up to 40. The whole tool is a static page: your draw happens in your browser and is never stored on a server.
How do exclusions work?
An exclusion is a pair of people who must not draw each other. Tap the cell where their rows and columns meet. The draw engine checks every assignment against every exclusion, so couples never end up buying for each other and last year's pairs get someone new.
Are the share links secure?
Each link carries its assignment encrypted with AES-GCM (the browser's WebCrypto). The decryption key is embedded in the URL fragment after #, which browsers do not transmit to servers. Anyone with the full link can read that one assignment — and nothing else.
What does the "no valid draw exists" error mean?
The exclusions leave no possible valid assignment — for example, three people where two pairs are excluded. The tool detects this and tells you which participant, if any, is excluded from everyone. Remove an exclusion or add more people and draw again.
Can I print a sign-up sheet for my group?
Yes — the questionnaire section above prints on a single page with name, size, allergies and wishlist lines. Collect the sheets, type in the names, and draw.

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