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Secret Santa for large groups

drawnames is a free Secret Santa generator that makes it easy to draw names, even for large groups. It keeps track of every invitation, exclusion, match, and wish list, so organizers don’t have to manage them by hand or in spreadsheets.

Start Drawing Names
Two-panel illustration comparing paper-slip name drawing with an online draw. Left: a crowded group of stressed, confused people crowd around a blue bowl overflowing with folded paper slips, slips scattered across the table, several clutching their heads or looking anxious. Right: one smiling person sits calmly on a sofa with a laptop, drawnames logo above the screen, surrounded by twelve circular participant avatars connected by dashed blue lines to show who's been matched with whom.
Drawnames illustration showing support for large groups. A bordered panel holds a grid of 17 diverse cartoon participant avatars with a blue "plus" button to add more, topped by an orange "15+" badge. Beside it, a black top hat overflowing with folded paper slips is marked with an orange X, indicating the old method doesn't scale. Below, three circular vignettes show the kinds of groups that use it: a multigenerational family outside a house with a heart, four colleagues in business attire in front of city buildings, and three students with backpacks in front of a school.

Organizing Secret Santa shouldn't take hours

1 in 10 Secret Santa groups organized on drawnames had 15 or more participants, including big families, teams, departments, and schools running their exchange at a scale a simple paper draw was never built for. (drawnames.com, 2025)

As the group grows, managing the gift exchange by hand becomes more complex and time-consuming: tracking who has joined, preventing unwanted matches, and reworking the list when someone joins late or drops out.

drawnames automates reminders, matching, and exclusions, giving organizers less to manage and more time to enjoy the exchange.

Designed to take the admin out of Secret Santa

One invitation link for everyone

Save time by sharing one invitation link that everyone can use to join the Secret Santa exchange.
Smartphone screenshot showing a drawnames invitation being shared. Behind the share sheet, wrapped gift boxes and the text "Share the invitation via text, email, or any other app." The iOS share sheet shows the invitation "Join to draw names!" with the Drawnames gift logo, a row of suggested contacts with WhatsApp and Messages badges, and app options for AirDrop, Mail, WhatsApp, and Messages.

Automatic reminders and updates

drawnames helps keep your celebration on track with timely updates, reminders for anyone who hasn’t joined yet, and prompts for important next steps.
Smartphone showing a drawnames reminder. A push notification at the top reads "Secret Santa is in 10 days!" with the message to grab a gift for your drawn name in time to keep the celebration smooth, fun, and stress-free. Below, a festive banner with a snowman, holly, a stocking, candy cane, and wrapped gifts, then an in-app card repeating the same reminder, the date Friday, 25 December 2026, and a blue "View drawn name" button.

No redraw after a dropout

If someone drops out, simply remove them. drawnames intelligently adjusts only the necessary matches, without disturbing the rest of the draw.
Smartphone showing a drawnames confirmation dialog titled "Remove member," asking whether you're sure you want to remove Alex and explaining that this name hasn't been drawn yet, so no one needs to draw a new name. A blue "I'm sure" button sits below. The screen has a festive green background with snowflakes and a banner of holly, a snowman, a stocking, candy cane, and wrapped gifts.
Large Group Draw Examples
demo
8 participants

Your drawn name is...
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Ready to start your Secret Santa?

Organize a worry-free Secret Santa draw, with no self-matches and no need to restart.
Start Drawing Names

What are our fans saying?

Melinda

US • December 26, 2025
This was awesome!! It was perfect for a big family trying to take out the stress of buying for everyone. It helped take out the guess work of what to buy, by allowing a wish list.

Julie

US • December 19, 2025
My colleagues and I absolutely loved using drawnames! It makes shopping for gifts for coworkers so much less stressful, as it provides fun suggestions. Everyone can easily choose what they'd prefer to receive for Secret Santa!

Debbie

US • December 15, 2025
This was the best application for drawing names and providing gift suggestions. Everyone else on my team thought the same thing. I have also shared it with multiple other family and friends. So cool!

Jacqueline

US • December 11, 2025
Everything went so smooth and uncomplicated. Everyone enjoys the way it works. It is perfect for large groups who may not be familiar with others likes and dislikes.

Other helpful Secret Santa features

Never draw your own name for Secret Santa

Organize a Secret Santa without anyone drawing their own name or having to start over. Read more
A drawnames screen on mobile titled "My drawn name" displays a festive reveal showing the name "Emily" in large blue text inside a white card. Colorful wrapped gift boxes peek out from behind the card, while confetti and snowflake decorations are scattered across a light blue background. A back arrow appears in the top left, and a profile icon is in the top right.

Set exclusions

Add exclusions for couples, siblings, household members, or anyone else who should not be matched. Read more
A mobile app screen showing a gift exchange draw restriction. The heading "Emily won’t draw" appears above a list of participants with selectable checkboxes: Alex, Chris, David, and Sarah. Chris is selected with a checked blue checkbox and a blue outline around the row, while the other participants are unselected. Decorative gift boxes are visible at the top against a light blue festive background.

No repeat matches

Reuse last year’s group on drawnames, and each participant will be matched with someone new this year.
A drawnames screen on mobile showing the Past celebrations tab. An archived Christmas Party celebration card is displayed with participant avatars, the date Dec 25, 2025, and a $100 gift budget. The card includes actions to Reuse celebration, view draw results, and open celebration details. The Past tab is selected, with Upcoming available beside it, and a profile icon appears in the top right.

Common questions and answers

If you were the organizer, you can request the link or log in. In October, we automatically send this email to last year’s organizer.

On the group page, you can see which members still need to draw a name or make a wish list. The celebration organizer can then send them a reminder.

If you already have a list of names and/or email addresses, you can easily import them.

You can set exclusions while you’re creating the celebration. The exclusions can be changed later on, as long as at least 4 group members haven’t yet drawn a name. If you want to exclude partners, make sure you set that for both names. You can enter exclusions for a group of at least 4 people.

If you want to organize a celebration without drawing a name yourself, uncheck the option 'I (organizer) will also draw a name' in the first step of setting up a celebration. That way, you're just hosting, not drawing a name yourself.

Trusted for millions of gift exchanges

Every year, millions of people around the world use drawnames to draw names fairly, avoid do-overs, and keep gift exchanges fun for everyone.

25 Years

of bringing loved ones together
An illustration of the planet with a heart symbol hovering above it.

42M+

names drawn yearly
An illustration of a person liking gifts on a mobile phone

4.8/5

user rating
QR-code to download the drawnames app

Ready to run Secret Santa for your whole group?

Organize a large Secret Santa draw with no headcount limits and no manual tracking.
Start Drawing Names