How the draw works
Add the names, and the draw is made. Everyone gives a gift to exactly one person and receives one from exactly one person, and nobody can draw themselves. If you add rules, such as a couple who should not draw each other, the draw respects them.
It is not the same as shuffling a list and hoping. If you simply give every person a random name, someone ends up with their own name surprisingly often. If you give every person a random name from the group, the chance that nobody gets their own name is only about 37 percent (1 in e, a result mathematicians call the derangement probability). It is already close to that from four people upwards. Santa Pairs does not shuffle and hope. It builds each draw one person at a time and checks that everyone left can still be given someone, so you never see an invalid draw.
Randomness comes from your browser’s secure random number generator. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Keeping it secret
Most Secret Santa sites email everyone a link, or show the organiser every pairing, which spoils the surprise for the person running it. Santa Pairs gives you three ways to keep the draw secret:
- Pass the phone. Each person taps their own name, looks at who they have, and hides it before the phone moves on. Nobody sees anyone else’s result.
- Printed slips. Print one slip per person, cut them out and hand them out. Whoever prints can read the slips, so ask a person who is not playing, or print and cut without looking.
- Copy as text. Only if you are not playing and want a record. It shows every pairing, so it spoils the draw for the organiser, and the page warns you before it does.
Read more about each in pass the phone and Secret Santa without email.
Prefer not to collect addresses at all? See how to run a Secret Santa without email.
Rules for couples and other exclusions
Open “Add rules” and write one rule per line. A & B means A and B must not draw each other. A > B means only A must not draw B. Rules are checked before the draw, so Santa Pairs knows whether a valid draw exists.
Sometimes none does. With three people, for example, if every pair is excluded nobody has anyone left to give to. When that happens, the page says which rule is in the way instead of failing silently. Small groups with many rules are the usual cause: with four or five people, two or three couples can already make a draw impossible. More on the exclusions page.
How to run a good Secret Santa
The draw is the easy part. A Secret Santa goes smoothly when the organiser fixes the date, the budget and the rules before drawing names, and when everyone knows how gifts will be handed over. Our step by step guide has a timeline, a message you can paste into your group chat, and answers for the usual problems such as people dropping out.
Not sure where to start? Read how to organise a Secret Santa, from the first message to the reveal, and see Secret Santa gift ideas by budget when it is time to buy. Called a Kris Kringle where you live? The Kris Kringle generator works the same way. Playing a gift-stealing game instead? Try the white elephant turn order generator.
Setting a budget
Agree one number, in one currency, that includes wrapping and postage. A modest limit keeps things fair and stops anyone feeling awkward. You can print the budget on every slip. See gift budget tips.
Your names stay on your device
Everything runs in your browser. The names you type are not uploaded, saved or shared, and reloading the page erases them. That is also why Santa Pairs cannot recover a draw if you close the page: write down or print what you need first. How this is checked is explained on how we check this.
Questions people ask
Can someone draw their own name?
No. The draw is built so that everyone gives to someone else, and every rule you add is respected.
How many people do I need?
At least three. With two people the only possible draw is that they give to each other, which is not a secret.
How many people can I add?
Up to 100 names, one per line. Repeated names are ignored, so add a surname or initial to tell two people apart.
Is the draw really random?
Yes. It uses your browser’s secure random number generator, with a step that removes the small bias a simple remainder would add. The tool shuffles a complete set of pairings and keeps the first one that follows your rules, so every valid draw is equally likely. We test this: with four people and no rules there are nine possible draws, and each comes up about one time in nine. If your rules are so tight that almost no shuffle fits, the tool falls back to building the draw one person at a time. That always works, but in that rare case some valid draws can be slightly more likely than others.
What are the chances a hat draw works first time?
For larger groups, about 37 percent of random shuffles leave nobody with their own name. That is why drawing from a hat often needs a redo, and why this tool builds a valid draw step by step instead.
Does the organiser see who has whom?
Not if you use pass the phone or printed slips. The organiser only sees pairings if they choose “Show or copy all”, and the page warns them first.
What if someone drops out after the draw?
Remove their name and draw again, and tell everyone the first draw is cancelled. Because nothing is stored, the new draw replaces the old one.
Why not email everyone their result?
Email means giving a site everyone’s address, and any link in the message can be forwarded. Santa Pairs avoids both. See the page on Secret Santa without email.
Is anything stored or sent anywhere?
No. The draw runs in your browser, nothing is saved, and reloading the page erases it.