Gift exchange name draw

In a gift exchange name draw, everyone draws one name and buys a gift for that person, and nobody knows who drew whom until the gifts are opened. It's the same idea as Secret Santa, and many families simply call it the Christmas name draw or the family gift exchange.

Drawing paper slips from a hat has three problems: someone draws their own name, couples draw each other, and everyone has to be in the same room. An online draw fixes all three. Nobody can draw themselves, exclusions are respected, and people can check their match from anywhere.

This page runs on the same engine as the Secret Santa generator but keeps its own saved list. If you're organizing one draw for family and another for work, the two lists won't get mixed up.

Nobody sees the full result, including you. Each person gets their own link that contains only their match, encrypted. The link opens in the browser, nothing is uploaded to a server and no account is needed.

Three ways to hand out the draws:

• By message: send each link by email, text or any chat app.
• QR cards: print the cards and let everyone scan their own with a phone.
• One phone, passed around: at a family dinner, each person checks their name, hides it and passes the phone on.

If someone loses their link, you can send it again without seeing who they drew.

A gift exchange works best when people buy for someone they wouldn't normally buy for. The draw handles exclusions:

• Couples and households: give two people the same household or group, and they won't draw each other.
• Custom exclusions: "Emma - Liam" means they can't draw each other; one-way exclusions work too.
• Last year's draw: if Emma drew Liam last year, add it so it doesn't happen again.

If the exclusions make a draw impossible, the page tells you which rule is in the way, so you know what to relax.

The budget, say up to $30, goes out with each match, so you don't have to send it separately. You can also set a date and place, and everyone can add the event to their calendar.

Wish lists are optional. Send one shared link where everyone writes what they'd like, then load the replies into your list with one click. After the draw, each giver sees their match's wishes on their private link, but not anyone else's.

A budget and a wish list take the stress out of gift giving: nobody spends far more than everyone else, and fewer gifts end up unused.

1. List everyone. Add the names, and give people in the same household or couple the same group name so they won't draw each other.
2. Agree on a budget and a date. Both go out with each match, and everyone can save the date to their calendar.
3. Collect wish lists (optional). Share the wish list link and load the replies with one click.
4. Draw. The page builds one big loop or a free draw, whichever you choose, and creates a private link for each person.
5. Send the links. By message, QR card or one phone passed around. Everyone sees only their own match.

The finished draw stays saved in this browser, so if someone loses their link you can resend it in a few clicks. Next year, add this year's matches as exclusions so nobody gets the same person twice in a row.

If a big, mixed group is getting together and you don't want matches at all, try a white elephant gift exchange: the game itself decides who takes home what.