How it works
1. Make the draw
Names, one per line — the office, the extended family, the share house. Add a budget and a swap day if you like, and a note ("nothing scented, Dave's allergic"). Hit draw. The assignment is a single loop through everyone, done with cryptographic randomness, so nobody can get themselves — not by luck, by maths.
2. Share one link
You get two links: a share link for the group chat, and an organiser link for you. No email addresses to collect, no invites landing in spam — if your group has a chat, you're done. Bookmark the organiser link; there are no accounts, so it's the only key.
3. Everyone claims their name
Each person taps their own name on the shared page and lands on a private page: who they're buying for, that person's wishlist, and a wishlist box of their own. Nobody sees anyone else's draw — not even the organiser. Your page shows who's claimed and who's opened theirs, so you know exactly who to nag, without learning a single secret.
No emails, on purpose
Most Secret Santa sites want everyone's email address before a single name is drawn. Then the invites bounce, or land in spam, or sit unopened next to the electricity bill, and by December someone's chasing Nan for a login. One link in a chat that everyone already reads skips all of it. Works in WhatsApp, Messenger, Teams, the family thread — anywhere a link can go.
Wishlists
Everyone can jot a wishlist on their private page — sizes, colours, hard no's. It shows up for exactly one person: whoever drew them. Fewer scented candles, fewer polite faces on the day. Wishlists even survive a re-draw, so nothing gets retyped.
New to running one, or trying to settle the annual budget argument? The Kris Kringle rules cover what to spend and how to make it stick, when to draw and when to swap, the office gifts that reliably go wrong, and what to do when someone joins late or leaves before the day — plus gift ideas that work between $10 and $30.
FAQ
Can anyone see who I got?
No. Your draw lives behind your own private link. The organiser's page shows who's claimed their name and who's opened their page — never who drew whom. We can't spoil it, and neither can they.
Can I draw myself?
No. The draw is a single cycle — one unbroken loop through the whole group — which mathematically rules out anyone drawing themselves. No "shuffle again until it works" behind the curtain.
Someone claimed my name — what now?
Tell the organiser. They can reset your name from their page: the other person's link stops working immediately, and you claim your name properly.
What if someone loses their link?
Same fix — the organiser resets that name, and the person claims it again for a fresh private link. Their wishlist stays put.
Can we re-draw?
The organiser can re-draw everyone at any time. All private links are voided and everyone claims their name again — but wishlists survive.
Is it actually free?
Yes. No account, no trial, no card, no emails collected. It's a small tool, not a platform.
Does it handle money?
No — deliberately. The budget is a note, not a payment. Buy the presents however you always have.