The 7 Best Secret Santa Generators

Instead of using the time-honored tradition of drawing names from a hat, you can now do it online and anonymously, saving you the headache of having to figure out who will gift whom and helping you simplify your gift shopping and git management. These Secret Santa generators are free, simple and easy to use and most of them do not even require email.

1. Random Name Generator

Here is a list of some of the best online random name generators that enable you to draw names for gift exchanges. The way they work is simple: you type in the name of the participants and spin the wheel to randomly generate names. For instance, the first spin you pick a giver and the second spin you pick a recipient to match the giver. You proceed in this way till you use up all the names in the list. Popular random name generators include: Wheel of Names, Picker Wheel, Rand Name Picker by ClassTools

2. Secret Secret Santa

Secret Secret Santa is a free online tool that allows you to easily generate Secret Santa pairings for your group members. Secret Santa generator is free and requires no email, no sign up, and no software installation. You simply type in the names of your participants in the box and click on the Generate link button. The website generates a unique link that contains all the names of your participants and their Secret Santa pairings. When a participant clicks on the link, they can type in their names to see who they need to buy a gift for.

3. Name Drawing

Name Drawing is another useful Secret Santa and gift exchange generator that works without the need for email or signup. The tool allows you to add in names of family and friends, add constraints and exclusions if you want, and perform a random draw to generate a holiday gift exchange list. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can redo the draw to generate a different list. You can text or email the final list to participants.

3. Draw Names

Draw Names offers an online Secret Santa generator that helps you organize your Secret Santa using email and text message. Here is how the Secret Santa generator works: first type in or import the names of your group ( you can always remove or invite people to join later on). Choose the number of draws. There are three numbers of draws: One (everyone draws one name), Two (everyone draws two names), and None (Everyone can sign up first).

Next, set your exclusions if you have any (an exclusion ‘indicates who may not draw whom). Finally, set up the gift exchange details including group name, date of the gift exchange, mailing address (optional, if you want to send each other gifts by mail), budget (optional), your email, and invitation message to send to your group members. Once done, click on Confirm.

4. Elfster

Elfster is another good Secret Santa name generator and gift exchange planner ideal for any event. Here is how Elster works: First you need to invite your group members to install the app, make a wishlist to share your gift ideas, draw names and set up drawing conditions. The Elfster Secret Santa name generator decides who is buying whom a gift and makes sure everyone gets paired up properly. Elfster does require registration.

Features provided by Elfster include: view trending gifts and see which gifts are in demand this holiday season, access gift ideas and guides, receive suggestions to help you find the ideal gift, create and update wish lists anytime and anywhere, and many more. Elfster is available for iPhone, Mac, Android, and the web.

5. Secret Santa Organizer

This Secret Santa generator allows you to easily organize your Secret Santa party without having to bother with the pre-organizing work yourself. All you have to do is provide your information( name of participants and emails) and sit back while the generator does the work. It is simple and easy. You can set up your Secret Santa party in three easy steps: list your participants, add a message, and send.

Here is how the Secret Santa works: First create a party on the homepage. You need to include at least three persons in the list. As the list administrator, you will receive a confirmation email which , once validated, “your Secret Santa list will be scrambled and all users will receive your message along with the name of their Secret Santa gift buddy”.

6. Sneaky Santa

Sneaky Santa allows you to easily set up a Secret Santa for your group. You can invite family and friends, draw names, make wishlists, and send each other anonymous messages. “Your group members don’t have to install an app, and Sneaky Santa works the same on any device. Just share your group invite link and go!