Organise your Secret Santa online easily and privately
Want to organise a Secret Santa online without paper slips, accounts or gathering everyone in one place? SorteosUp lets you create the gift exchange in your browser and email every person their private assignment.
Enter the event details, add participants’ names and email addresses, and set exclusions where needed. After reviewing everything, SorteosUp makes the random assignment and privately tells each participant who they should buy for.
Each result is kept separate. Nobody receives the complete matching list and every viewing link is private, so the surprise lasts until exchange day.
It is made for families, friends, companies, associations, clubs, schools and any group that wants a straightforward email Secret Santa draw.
How does Secret Santa online work?
Name the event, such as “Christmas Secret Santa 2026” or “Office gifts”. Add your name and email as organiser; we verify it and send you a private management link while the event is available. Exchange date, suggested budget and a group message are optional.
Then add each participant’s name and email, review the list, configure optional exclusions and create the draw. The flow is: create event, add people, set exclusions, review, verify organiser email, generate assignments and privately send every result. No account or password is required.
No registration and no passwords
The organiser does not create a profile or password. Management happens through a private email link. Participants do not sign up either: each receives an individual message with event details and their assignment.
No registration does not mean public data. Access is individual and one person’s assignment is never shown to the rest of the group.
Secret Santa by email
Email gives each participant only their own result. It can include the event, organiser, date, budget, personal message and a private experience link. The assignment never appears in the subject line, preview text or URL, preventing an accidental mobile-notification reveal.
The organiser’s private link shows internal sending states, allows an incorrect address to be corrected and an email to be resent. Addresses are used only to run and communicate this event, never automatically added to newsletters or advertising.
Secret Santa exclusions
Set rules such as Ana cannot give to Carlos, Carlos cannot give to Ana, Marta cannot give to Luis, or Laura must not draw last year’s recipient. The system applies these rules before generating the result.
It checks whether a valid combination exists. If someone has no possible recipient, the organiser is asked to correct the restrictions. This is useful for couples, large families and work teams.
What happens to event data?
Data is kept temporarily to send emails and allow private views. The event and its associated data are automatically deleted seven days after it is generated; that deadline is not extended by changing the exchange date or viewing a result.
During those seven days, the event name, organiser, participants, emails, exclusions, assignments, message, internal sending state and private links may remain. Afterwards links stop working and data cannot be recovered from SorteosUp.
For families, workplaces and schools
For families and friends, one recipient saves time and focuses each gift. A suggested budget, such as €15, €20 or €30, keeps values similar; the organiser’s message can define gift type, spending limit and exchange date.
For companies, add people across departments or sites, set a common budget and date, prevent pairings and send results automatically. Exclusions can also encourage connections between colleagues who normally have less contact.
Teachers, academies and youth associations can use it too. When minors take part, use only necessary data and, where appropriate, addresses managed by guardians or the school; first names, initials or internal identifiers also work. The organiser sets appropriate rules.
Secret Santa, Secret Friend and Amigo Invisible
Secret Santa, Secret Friend and Amigo Invisible are closely related versions of the same idea: every participant secretly receives another person for whom to buy a gift. SorteosUp adapts the interface to the selected language without changing organiser-provided names or information.
Participants, privacy and redrawing
Larger groups offer more combinations, but the system always verifies that nobody draws themselves, everybody gives and receives one gift, exclusions are respected, no email is duplicated and addresses have a valid format. Impossible setups require an exclusion change.
The organiser can manage sending without automatically seeing all pairings, so they can take part too. Redrawing is exceptional: it invalidates old assignments and links, creates new ones, resends emails and does not extend the deletion date.
Tips for a great Secret Santa
Agree on a realistic budget, a clear date and permitted gifts. Explain whether gifts should be physical, an experience, handmade or humorous. Check emails carefully and use only essential exclusions, because too many may make a valid draw impossible.
Ask participants not to forward their email or private link. Complete the form above, add the group, review the conditions and create your free Secret Santa online without apps or paper slips.
FAQ
Is online Secret Santa free?+
Yes. The standard option creates the event and sends assignments without points or an account.
Do I need to register?+
No. The organiser verifies their email and receives a private management link, without a password or account.
Does every participant need an email?+
Yes. It privately sends each assignment; check all addresses before creating the draw.
Can I stop two people drawing each other?+
Yes. Add exclusions before the draw and the tool checks whether every rule can be met.
How long is data kept?+
It is automatically deleted seven days after the draw; links then stop working and the information cannot be recovered.
Does the organiser see every assignment?+
Not automatically. They can manage emails without seeing all pairings.
Does it work on mobile?+
Yes, on modern mobile, tablet and desktop browsers.
Can I fix a wrong email?+
While the event is available, the organiser can correct it from the private link and resend the assignment.