A Secret Santa draw has to guarantee two things a hat never does: nobody draws their own name, and the organiser does not see the list. This generator does both. Enter the names, add the pairs who must not draw each other if you have any, and choose between an instant draw, where each person reveals their own result in turn, and a live draw on the wheel, for when everyone is in the same room.
How do you run the draw?
- Enter the names, one per line or separated by commas. Three people minimum; there is no useful maximum. Duplicates are removed.
- Add exclusions if you need them: a couple who live together, two people who share a desk, the person who already had the other last year. An exclusion works both ways.
- Pick a mode. Instant draw: the generator assigns everyone at once, and each result stays hidden until the person it belongs to taps it. Live on the wheel: the phone goes round the table, everyone spins, and the wheel never contains the person spinning or anyone already drawn.
Either way, the draw happens in your browser and is sent nowhere. Leave the page and it is gone: copy the list if you are the organiser and the group trusts you with it, or have each person come and reveal their own.
What does the generator guarantee?
Nobody draws themselves. With ten people, an unconstrained random draw hands at least one person their own name about 63% of the time. The generator only produces assignments where everyone gives to someone else.
Everyone gives once and receives once. Nobody is forgotten, nobody gets two gifts. With exclusions, some set-ups have no solution at all: three people, two of them a couple, for instance. The generator tells you so rather than cheating.
The draw is uniform. Among all the assignments that satisfy your constraints, each one is equally likely. The random numbers come from the browser's cryptographic generator, the one used for encryption, not an approximate one.
The organiser knows nothing, in instant mode, as long as they tap no result. That is the promise a hat can never keep, since whoever prepares the slips always sees who is left.
When should you draw, and for how much?
Draw between November 20 and November 30 for a mid-December exchange: early enough to order online, late enough that nobody forgets. Announce the budget as an exact amount, never a range: "$20" avoids a $12 gift facing a $35 one.
Share a wish list if the group does not know each other well, and decide in advance what happens to the gift of someone absent on the day.
Also running a holiday giveaway?
Secret Santa is the team's draw; a giveaway is the community's. If you are launching an Instagram or Facebook giveaway for the holidays, the giveaway rules generator writes the official rules in a minute, and Lukky draws the winner from the comments with a public certificate your entrants can verify.
FAQ
- Is the Secret Santa draw really random?
- Yes. Among all the assignments that satisfy your constraints, each has the same probability, and the numbers come from the browser's cryptographic generator, the one built for encryption.
- Can I stop two people from drawing each other?
- Yes, with exclusions. They work both ways: if Ana cannot give to Bo, Bo cannot give to Ana either. Add as many as you need; if the set-up becomes impossible, the generator says so.
- Can the organiser see the results?
- Only by tapping each one. In instant mode every assignment stays hidden until its owner reveals it; in wheel mode the result shows to whoever spins.
- Is my data sent anywhere?
- No. The names and the draw stay in your browser and disappear when you close the page.
- How many participants can I add?
- There is no limit. Past fifty or so people, instant mode is more practical than the wheel.
Running an Instagram or Facebook giveaway?
Lukky draws the winner from the comments and issues a certificate your entrants can verify. Free on iOS and Android.
Updated on August 28, 2026