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Secret Santa generator, no email

Draw names for a Secret Santa exchange while everyone is in the same room. Add 3–30 aliases, exclude pairs who shouldn’t draw each other, then pass one device for a covered turn each. No email addresses or signup needed.

For people in the same room. Use aliases only. The organizer or device owner can inspect the assignments, even when the screen is covered. This is not a way to keep the draw secret from the host.

Who’s taking part?

3–30 different aliases, up to 50 characters each. Robin, Sage, Juniper and Kit are fictional examples. Blank lines are ignored.

Keep a pair apart

Optional: each excluded pair works both ways. Neither person can draw the other. Everyone is already prevented from drawing themselves.

One giver, one recipient

Each person draws one other participant. Every participant also receives exactly once, and nobody draws themselves. Add everyone before you start, including the host if they’re joining the exchange. You don’t need an even number of people.

The four starting aliases are a fictional example. Replace them with your group’s aliases, one per line. If two people use the same alias, add an initial or another short distinction. Capital letters and extra spaces don’t make a duplicate into a different person.

Illustrated output example: the covered turn names Robin, followed by a revealed fictional match to Juniper, then the covered handoff to Sage.

Exclude a pair in both directions

Use Add excluded pair, then choose the two aliases. For example, excluding Robin and Sage means Robin cannot draw Sage and Sage cannot draw Robin. Add another pair for each restriction. You can remove any pair before drawing.

Restrictions can leave no complete draw. With only Robin, Sage and Juniper, excluding Robin and Sage leaves both of them needing to draw Juniper. The tool stops and asks you to remove an exclusion or add a participant. It never ignores a restriction to produce a result.

Two people may draw each other when that pair has not been excluded. The tool does not require one long circle, prevent last year’s matches automatically, or promise that all possible valid draws have equal odds. Add any pair you want kept apart before generating.

Pass the device with the match covered

  1. After drawing, the screen names the first participant with their recipient covered. Pass the device to that person.
  2. They select Reveal my recipient, remember the alias, then select Hide and pass to next person. The next participant’s name appears with no recipient showing.
  3. Repeat until everyone has looked. Hide, stay on this turn covers the result if someone needs a moment before passing.

The page also covers an exposed result when you switch away from the tab. If someone forgets their match while the page is still open, Go through covered turns again returns to the same draw. Participants take turns in the order entered; walking through again does not redraw.

The optional host summary reveals all assignments and can copy them as text. Only open it away from participants. Covered screens prevent an ordinary handoff from leaving the previous match on display, but the organizer or device owner can inspect the draw. This tool cannot keep assignments secret from that person.

Finish changes before anyone looks

Changing participants or exclusions means discarding the whole draw. Edit participants or exclusions, New draw and Clear all ask you to confirm first. Keeping the existing draw covers the results again. If anyone already saw a recipient, tell the whole group when a new draw replaces it.

Refreshing the page or leaving it starts over with the fictional example. There is no saved draw, recovery link, email delivery or remote participant link. Keep the page open until everyone has had a turn; if you choose to copy the host list, that separate copy remains wherever you put it even after Clear all.

This version suits an in-person gathering with one device. If people need to receive assignments in different places, choose a service with individual delivery. For the exchange itself, the gift exchange party ideas guide explains different game formats. After the draw, the gift tag maker can turn your chosen To/From names into printable tags.

Keep the generator for your gathering

An illustrative traditional Secret Santa draw: a hand lifts one folded name slip from a red velvet Santa hat beside a Christmas tree. Text reads Secret Santa, Your turn to draw.
An illustrative paper name draw. This generator uses covered turns on one device. You may reuse this image; please link back to this generator.
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Published October 22, 2026.