Secret Santa draw
How the Secret Santa draw works
Wichtlify is a free website and app for Secret Santa: you add the names, Wichtlify draws them in secret, and each person sees through their own link only who they are buying for. Here is the draw, step by step.
- Couples and siblings never draw each other
- Wichtlify checks the draw works before it runs
- Taking part needs no account and no app
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Create the groupOccasion, date and budget.
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Add names and exclusionsA couple who should not draw each other is set as an exclusion.
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Draw in secretNobody draws themselves, and nobody sees the whole list.
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Send the linksYou send each person their own link. There they add wishes and, after the draw, see only their own name.
Scouts in Exeter
Sixteen Explorer Scouts, one leader and a draw nobody can peek at
In Secret Santa everyone gives one present to one other person and keeps the name secret until the party. Marcus leads 16 Explorer Scouts in Exeter, and for their Christmas party on Tuesday 8 December the limit is £6 a present.
Marcus creates the group on his phone and adds the 16 names. He saves an exclusion for two brothers, who must not draw each other because they buy for each other at home anyway. Only Marcus needs an account. Each Scout gets a personal link, a web address only that Scout uses, and opens it in the browser with no account and no app. The app is there for iPhone and Android.
A hat full of paper slips does the job while nobody has to be kept apart and it does not matter who sees what. When each person should see only their own name, you need a Secret Santa name generator that draws in secret and knows your exclusions, as Wichtlify does. A draw that everyone watches is not what Wichtlify is made for; the comparison with an open draw explains when each one fits.
Before the draw
Exclusions come first, and the draw checks that they work
Exclusions for siblings, couples or best friends decide who should not draw whom. They belong before the draw, not after: if a brother pulled his brother out of a hat, someone would already know a name and the group would have to draw again.
The draw then shuffles the names at random so that each person gives exactly one present and receives exactly one, and nobody draws themselves. Two people can still end up buying for each other, because chance decides.
Before it runs, Wichtlify checks that the draw works out with every exclusion. If too many exclusions leave no possible match, it says so and names the person concerned. You loosen one exclusion and try again, instead of getting a result that breaks your own rules.
Nobody sees the list
Not even the organiser can see who drew whom
Ellie, the first Scout to ask, wanted to know whether Marcus would see who had her. He does not. He takes part too, and like everyone else he learns only whom he is buying for. There is no list of pairs anywhere.
In the group Marcus does see who has opened their link and who has not added wishes there yet, so he can ask the right Scouts before the party. Wichtlify also reminds people about empty wish lists, free of charge: a note in the link, a push in the app and, once an e-mail address is entered and confirmed, an e-mail.
The personal link
Each link opens on one name and that person's wishes
Every person has a link from the moment they are added. Marcus sent them in the Scouts' chat a week before the draw on Monday 23 November; where an e-mail address is entered, Wichtlify can e-mail the link too. It sends nothing by WhatsApp or SMS.
Until the draw, the link collects wishes. Afterwards it shows the one person its owner is buying for, with the £6 limit and the party date.
Drop-outs and next year
A drop-out after the draw does not mean drawing again
When one Scout left the unit on 1 December, Marcus used the free emergency repair. Wichtlify asked who would step in and closed only that gap; everyone else kept the name they already had. Someone joining late is different: the group draws again, best before anyone has looked at their link.
Next year Marcus can repeat the group for free, and the draw leaves out this year's pairs. A draw needs at least 3 people, and up to 100 fit in a group on the web.
If nobody is buying presents but each person should still get one secret name, you can assign people to each other at random.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does the draw cost anything?
No. The group, exclusions, draw, links, emergency repair and a new round with this group are all free. Wichtlify Pro is optional: €4.99 a year, renews automatically, bought in the iOS or Android app and valid for all the groups on your account. It adds, for example, reminders on dates you choose and printed cards for people without a phone; whoever prints the cards sees the names.
Can someone join after the draw?
Yes, but the group then draws again. That works cleanly only while nobody has looked at their link, so set a deadline for everyone to say yes.
Next steps
Where to go next
Pick the page that matches the next question your group has.
Secret Santa exclusions
For siblings, couples or whole households who should not be matched.
Plan your exclusionsSecret Santa rules
Budget, wrapping and the handover settled before anyone draws.
Agree on the rulesSecret Santa without email
For groups like a Scout unit, where you only have first names and a chat.
Share links without emailNames and exclusions first, then the draw
Create the group, add everyone and set the exclusions. You draw when everything is in.
Create Secret Santa group