Are exclusions one-way or two-way?

They are directed. If Alex must not draw Blair and Blair must not draw Alex, enter both lines.

Why are duplicate names rejected?

Every giver and recipient needs an unambiguous identity. Add a surname initial, number, or another agreed label rather than merging two people.

Can the organizer regenerate an inconvenient result?

Technically yes, but the group should agree on redraw reasons first. Regenerating to influence pairings undermines the declared process.

Is every valid assignment equally likely?

The search order uses secure randomness, but this implementation does not claim a uniform distribution across all possible complete matchings.

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Private family and team workflow

帶排除選項的祕密聖誕老人生成器

Enter people and optional groups, add one-way exclusions, and create a complete one-to-one assignment without self or same-group matches.

設置抽籤

The expanded household and reciprocal-pair controls use reviewed English copy while localization review for this route is pending.

Participants and groupsUse Name or Name | Group. A non-empty group is optional; people with the same normalized group cannot draw one another. Names must be unique and cannot contain | or ->.Directed exclusions (optional, one per line)

Prevent reciprocal pairs (A draws B and B draws A)

Turn this on to prohibit two-person exchange loops in addition to self, group, and directed exclusions. Restrictive rules may have no solution.

Everyone gives to exactly one different person and receives from exactly one person. A shared group blocks assignments within that group. Directed exclusions add one-way blocks. The optional reciprocal rule prevents two people drawing each other. Web Crypto randomizes the matching search order; this tool does not claim that every valid complete matching is equally likely.

Assignments stay in this browser session and are not added to URLs or storage. Regular site analytics may still load without receiving names, groups, exclusions, or results.

路由語言：zh-Hant

How the assignment is built

The tool validates 2–100 unique participant labels, removes blank lines, and treats exclusions as directed rules in the form giver -> recipient. Self-assignment is always blocked. It then uses Web Crypto to randomize the search order while finding a one-to-one matching in which everyone gives once and receives once.

A valid result is shown only after the complete matching succeeds. If an exclusion leaves someone with no possible recipient, or the combined rules have no full solution, the current input remains visible and the tool reports the problem instead of returning a partial assignment.

Worked example: households and partners

Enter every person with a unique label, such as Alex R and Alex S. Add both directions when two partners must not draw each other: Alex R -> Jamie R and Jamie R -> Alex R. Generate only after reviewing the full participant count. Reveal one row privately, hide it again, and avoid projecting or copying the complete assignment list in front of the group.

A careful draw workflow

Agree on participants, exclusions, budget, date, and redraw rules before generating.
Use unique labels and add every directed exclusion that the group expects.
Keep one organizer responsible for private delivery and delete copied or downloaded results when no longer needed.

Limits and checks

Randomized search order does not prove that every valid complete matching has exactly the same probability.
The browser result is not a regulated draw, independent audit, identity check, or guarantee that the entered list was complete.
Very restrictive rules can have no solution; do not silently remove an exclusion merely to force a result.

Private reveal and local data

Names, exclusions, and assignments stay in the current browser session and are not written to the URL or local storage. Copy and CSV controls deliberately create data outside the page, so protect those outputs and avoid using them on a shared screen. Normal analytics may load without receiving participant names or results.

Secret Santa questions

Are exclusions one-way or two-way?: They are directed. If Alex must not draw Blair and Blair must not draw Alex, enter both lines.
Why are duplicate names rejected?: Every giver and recipient needs an unambiguous identity. Add a surname initial, number, or another agreed label rather than merging two people.
Can the organizer regenerate an inconvenient result?: Technically yes, but the group should agree on redraw reasons first. Regenerating to influence pairings undermines the declared process.
Is every valid assignment equally likely?: The search order uses secure randomness, but this implementation does not claim a uniform distribution across all possible complete matchings.

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Reviewed for functionality and English content on 2026-08-22.