Create a free
Secret Santa.
Draw names online, set exclusions, and help everyone choose with wishlists or Mystery Q&A.
Create a free Secret SantaUp to 100 people per exchange · Each person sees only their own match
As seen in
How do I run a free Secret Santa online?
Create a free Secret Santa on GiftList: add 3 to 100 people and draw names. Each person sees only their own match. Add exclusions and a budget guideline, and let everyone link a wishlist or answer Mystery Q&A. Participants need a free account to see their match.
How Secret Santa works
A Secret Santa gives everyone one person to shop for.
- 1
Invite the group
Set a date and budget, then invite by email, name or link. Each person needs a free account to see their match.
- 2
Draw names
Draw now or schedule it. Each person sees only their own match.
- 3
Pick the gift
Use their wishlist or Mystery Q&A answers. Keep who you are a surprise.
Watch how it works (2 min)
Something they picked, or something so them.
Mrs Claus has a few ideas.
For the ‘surprise me’ kind of person.
Answer the Mystery Q&A: interests, style, things to avoid. Your Santa gets the hints; you get the surprise.
How the Mystery Q&A works
Not everyone keeps a wishlist. So we ask questions instead, and hand the answers to your Secret Santa.
How the questions are chosen
You get three short questions: a shopping clue, one about you and one just for fun. Swap any you don't like, or skip it.
- Points at a gift
“A small luxury that makes your day better?”
Cinnamon rolls. Warm. No notes.
- Points at a gift
“What do you always run out of?”
Good pens. Someone keeps taking them.
- Just for fun
“What's your most useless talent?”
I can name any dog breed from across the street.
Your Santa reads the answers before they shop. Want an icebreaker? At the swap, have each Santa read one fun answer aloud and let everyone guess whose it is.
Ask the question.
Keep the secret.
After the draw, Santa Mail lets you message your match without revealing who you are.
Asking for a friend:
red slippers or green?
Red. And no more
cookie cutters, please.
Your group, your rules.
Create a free Secret Santa- Keep couples apart
- Add exclusions. GiftList checks that a valid draw still exists.
- Share the organizing
- Add a co-organizer to help run the exchange.
- Save the reveal
- Who drew you stays hidden until the exchange date.
Everything here is free.
Read the FAQ- AI gift ideas for your budget
- Your Santa can ask Genie, our AI gift assistant, for a shortlist based on your answers and the exchange budget.
- Who said it?
- Share one Q&A answer anonymously, then the group guesses who wrote it. On the web now.
- Wishlists and the Mystery Q&A
- Your Santa shops from what you actually want, not a guess.
- Santa Mail
- Ask your match anonymously. Organizers can switch it off.
Secret Santa FAQ
What organizers and participants ask before the first draw.
Basics
What is a gift exchange?
A gift exchange is a group gifting activity where each participant is randomly assigned another person to buy a gift for. GiftList runs Secret Santa name-draw exchanges, where each person is matched with someone to gift and who drew you stays hidden until the exchange date. Planning a White Elephant or Yankee Swap instead? We offer free no-signup tools and printable rules for those formats too.
Is GiftList's gift exchange feature free?
Yes, completely free. Name drawing, wishlists, Mystery Q&A, Santa Mail, the activity feed and the reveal are all included.
How many people can participate?
You need at least 3 people to draw names — with two, you'd each draw the other and there's no secret left. One exchange can hold up to 100 people, which covers everything from a small family group to a large office party.
Do participants need a GiftList account to join?
Organizers can add people by email or name before they sign up. Everyone added is in the draw unless they decline before names are drawn. A free GiftList account is needed to view a match, share gift hints, and use Santa Mail. A personal invitation link lets someone claim their place even if they sign up with a different email. For name-only participants, the organizer needs to share their personal link or add an email address.
The draw
How does the name drawing work?
The organizer can draw once at least 3 people are on the roster, or enable automatic drawing for the morning after a join-by date (7–8am Pacific). The draw shuffles participants and finds a valid assignment for everyone, with no self-matches and all exclusions respected. Each person sees only their own match. If there is no valid draw, we explain what needs attention.
Can the organizer see who drew whom?
Everyone sees only their own match, and no screen lists the whole draw. The draw is not hidden from the organizer, though: organizer tools, such as swapping matches or running the exchange again with last year's matches excluded, can show who drew whom. If that matters to your group, pick an organizer everyone trusts. Who drew you stays hidden until the exchange date.
Can I prevent certain people from drawing each other?
Yes. Organizers can pair people off so couples or roommates never draw each other — and it works for everyone on the roster, including people invited by email or added by name alone. In a small group it is possible to add so many exclusions that no valid set of matches exists; we tell the organizer before they draw rather than failing partway through.
When do we find out who our Secret Santa was?
You can view the person you are gifting as soon as names are drawn. On the exchange date, starting at midnight Pacific, Reveal my Secret Santa becomes available so you can choose when to see who drew you. Opening your shopping match earlier does not reveal your own Santa.
Gifts and privacy
How do participants tell their match what they want?
Each person chooses a linked GiftList wishlist or the Mystery Q&A. The Q&A asks about interests and a few short, fun questions, plus things to avoid, with optional sizes and shipping details. Their assigned giver sees the option they chose and can ask the AI gift assistant for ideas within the exchange budget.
What is Who said it?
A guessing game in your exchange's Activity feed. Anyone who answers the Mystery Q&A can add one of their answers anonymously. Once at least three people have added one, the answers post and the group guesses who wrote each. It's on the web now and is coming to the iPhone and Android apps.
Can I message my match or my Secret Santa?
After names are drawn, Santa Mail opens a private thread between each giver and recipient. The giver appears as Your Secret Santa; the recipient's replies show their identity, which their giver already knows. Organizers can only read threads they are part of and can turn Santa Mail off in settings.
Who can see our exchange?
The full exchange is available to its organizer and participants. An invitation link can show an exchange preview, including its name, cover, description, dates, budget, and organizer. When the shareable link is enabled, anyone holding it can join before the draw. Turning it off stops general link joins; personal invitations and existing participants retain access.
Not sure it’s Secret Santa?Find your exchange formatGet gift exchange rules
Organizing one at work?Office Secret Santa
Your turn
to play Santa.
Invite friends and family. Give the guessing a holiday.
Create a free Secret SantaUp to 100 people per exchange · Each person sees only their own match
