Secret Santa Generator
Organise a fair gift exchange in seconds. Paste everyone’s names and the tool creates random giver-to-recipient pairings where no one is ever assigned themselves. No emails, no accounts — it all runs privately in your browser.
Tip: for a real surprise, have one person draw and read each line out privately, or copy the list and paste it where only the organiser sees it.
How to use the Secret Santa Generator
Enter each participant on its own line (2 or more).
Press Draw Pairings to create a random gift-giving chain.
Nobody is ever matched with themselves — the tool guarantees it.
Copy the list for the organiser, or reveal one pairing at a time.
About this tool
A good Secret Santa draw has one golden rule: no one gives a gift to themselves. This generator guarantees that by producing a derangement — a permutation with no element left in its original position — using a shuffle-and-verify approach backed by crypto-strong randomness.
The result is a closed gift-giving cycle: each person gives to exactly one other and receives from exactly one other. Because everything happens on your device, there are no emails to collect and no personal data stored. Perfect for families, offices, classrooms and friend groups.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone draw their own name?
No. The tool produces a derangement, so every participant is assigned someone other than themselves. It re-shuffles until that condition is met.
What’s the minimum number of people?
Two. With two people they simply swap. There is no fixed maximum for everyday use.
Does it send emails to participants?
No. It shows the pairings on screen for the organiser to share however they like. Nothing is emailed or stored on a server.
Can I exclude couples from being matched?
This simple version does not support exclusion rules — it ensures no self-matches only. For partner exclusions, draw again until you are happy with the result.