A Secret Santa draw takes two minutes if you have a tool and an evening if you have paper slips and a hat. Below is a draw that runs in your browser, with no sign-up, plus templates for the letter to Santa that makes the gift worth opening.
🎅 Online Secret Santa draw
Couples or families who must not draw each other go on one line joined by “+”: Anna + Boris
How the draw works
- Write each participant on a separate line. Put couples or housemates on one line joined by “+” so they do not draw each other.
- Press “Run the draw”. The result is a closed loop: everyone gives once and receives once, and nobody gets themselves.
- Pick how to hand out: one screen passed around (best for a table), or a personal link per person (best for a remote team).
The link holds only that person’s own pair, in the part of the address after “#”, which the browser never sends to a server. We keep no list of participants.
If someone drops out
Before gifts are bought, redraw without them. After the gifts are bought, use the chain: whoever was to give to the dropout gives to whoever the dropout was supposed to give to.
The letter to Secret Santa: what to include
- What you like — hobbies, drinks, series, colours.
- What you do not like — and allergies, which are not a matter of taste.
- Two or three ideas within the budget, one of them cheap.
- What to avoid — mugs, candles and socks if you already own plenty.
Four letter samples
Short:
“Dear Santa! I drink tea, love board games and hate perfume. Anything under the budget in those three areas is welcome. Thank you!”
With a joke:
“Santa, I was good this year, mostly on Tuesdays. Please bring something edible that survives until January. No socks. I will notice.”
Practical:
“Hello! Allergic to nuts. Size M. Ideas: a good notebook, a desk plant, coffee beans. Please skip anything scented.”
For a class or team chat:
“Santa, I collect postcards and read a lot. A book by an author you like, with a note why, would be the best present. Budget is 700 RUB — I know the rules.”
After the exchange, one line of thanks to your Santa in the chat is a nice closing touch.
More on the rules
Budgets, dates, gift ideas by price and ready chat announcements are in Secret Santa at work: rules, budget and chat messages. If the gifts come with a shared table, see splitting a corporate party.
Frequently asked questions
How do I run a free Secret Santa draw online without signing up?
Type the participants’ names one per line on this page and press “Run the draw”. No sign-up, and names are stored nowhere: the draw is computed in your browser. Then hand out the results by passing one screen around or with personal links.
How can the organiser avoid knowing who draws whom?
Use “pass one screen around”: each person taps their own name, looks and hides the answer, and the organiser does not peek. Or send everyone a personal link and do not open other people’s — a link holds only that person’s pair. Technically the organiser can decode links they created, so full secrecy relies on good faith. For true blindness, have someone who is not playing run the draw.
What if someone draws themselves?
It cannot happen here: the tool never lets anyone draw themselves and never pairs people written on the same “+” line. On paper slips, agree that anyone who draws their own slip puts it back and draws again after everyone else.
What if a participant drops out after the draw?
Before gifts are bought, simply redraw without that person. If gifts are already bought, use the chain rule: whoever was to give to the person who dropped out gives instead to whoever the dropout was supposed to give to. That needs the organiser to know the pairs, so settle it with the participant straight away.
How many people do you need for Secret Santa?
At least three — with two people it is just a gift swap with no mystery. It works comfortably from five or six players, and this tool takes up to 60. In big companies, split by team so people give to someone they know.
What is a letter to Secret Santa?
A short note from the recipient to their anonymous giver: what you like, what you do not, sizes, allergies and two or three ideas within the budget. It fixes the game’s main problem — a gift shot in the dark. Post it in the group chat before the draw or hand it to the organiser.
Do I need an app for Secret Santa?
No. The draw on this page runs right on the website, in a phone or desktop browser: nothing to install and no sign-up for anyone. Each person gets their match through a personal link you can send in any messenger.
How do you play Secret Santa online when everyone lives in different cities?
Run the draw here and send everyone their personal link. Then play as usual, except gifts go by delivery or courier — the giver asks the organiser for the address so as not to give themselves away. Allow an extra week: December deliveries are slower.
Splitting the party after the exchange?
Table, drinks, taxi — who owes whom, in seconds. Free, no sign-up.
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