Exclusions are rules the draw has to respect: who may never buy for whom. Set them before you draw, and every match the tool makes keeps all of them; if they can’t all be kept, it stops and tells you which ones clash. This page opens with an example group of eight friends: two couples (Maya and Leo, Priya and Sam) who can’t draw each other, last year’s eight matches blocked one way, and No swaps ticked, so two people never just exchange gifts.
Two kinds of exclusions
Both ways is for people who shouldn’t buy for each other at all: couples, roommates, a parent and child in a family draw. Tick Both ways when you add the rule and it shows as one pill, “Maya ↔ Leo”.
One way is for last year’s matches. If Maya bought for Priya last year, Maya shouldn’t get Priya again, but there’s no reason Priya can’t draw Maya. Untick Both ways, pick Maya first and Priya second, and the pill reads “Maya can’t draw Priya”. Blocking only one direction leaves the draw more options, which matters in a small group.
Setting up your own group
Replace Maya, Leo and the others with your own group. Any rule that still names someone you deleted is marked as ignored and no longer counts; clear it with ×, then add the rules your group needs. A quick way to block last year’s matches is to go down last year’s list and add one one-way rule per giver. Then decide on the options: No swaps stops two people drawing each other, and One big circle puts everyone into a single gift chain, which suits opening presents one after another.
When the rules don’t fit
Each rule removes options, and the checks run before anything is drawn. If one person is excluded from everyone, or a few people can only draw from too few others, the tool says so and names them, instead of looping or quietly breaking a rule. Remove the rule it mentions, untick No swaps, or add more people. With eight people, two couples and last year’s matches, as here, there are still plenty of possible draws.
After the draw
Every person gets a private link that reveals only their own match. Send each link by chat or text; nobody needs an account, and no email is sent from the site. For a family where whole households should be kept apart, the family Secret Santa page has an example with a household of four; for coworkers, use the office Secret Santa page.
What this page fills in for you
- Event name
- Friends Secret Santa
- Budget
- $30
- Message to everyone
- Same rules as last year: no couples, and nobody gets the person they had last time.
- Options
- No swaps
- Example group
- Maya, Leo, Priya, Sam, Jonas, Ava, Noah, Elif
- Can't draw each other
- Maya ↔ Leo, Priya ↔ Sam
- One way only
- Maya can't draw Priya, Leo can't draw Jonas, Priya can't draw Ava, Sam can't draw Maya, Jonas can't draw Noah, Ava can't draw Leo, Noah can't draw Elif, Elif can't draw Sam
Change any of it before you draw. Your edits and your draw are saved in this browser for this page only, separately from the main Secret Santa generator, so you can come back here to resend a link.