Pick Your Secret Santa
A ranked-choice Secret Santa app. Create an exchange, invite your group, let everyone rank their preferences, and the algorithm finds the optimal match. No accounts needed — just email links.
Traditional Secret Santa is pure random chance. You might get matched with someone you know well and have great gift ideas for — or you might draw the one person you've barely spoken to.
Pick Your Secret Santa fixes this. Before the draw, everyone secretly ranks who they'd most like to give a gift to. The Hungarian matching algorithm then finds an assignment where everyone gives to someone near the top of their list. It's a classic assignment problem from computer science, applied to holiday cheer.
The whole thing runs on token-based links — no accounts, no passwords. The organizer gets an admin dashboard, participants get personal ranking pages, and everyone gets their match via email.
How It Works
Create an exchange
Name your event, set an optional ranking deadline, and choose whether to include yourself as a participant.
Add your group
Add participants by name and email from the organizer dashboard. Send invites with one click — everyone gets a unique link.
Everyone ranks & adds wishlists
Each person drags to rank who they'd most like to give to, and adds gift ideas for themselves. All completely private.
Matches are revealed
The organizer runs the match (or it runs automatically at the deadline). Everyone gets an email with their person and that person's wishlist.
Features
Ranked Preferences
Everyone privately ranks who they'd most like to give a gift to. Drag and drop to reorder — it takes 30 seconds.
Optimal Matching
A Hungarian algorithm finds the assignment that maximizes everyone's happiness. Math-backed, provably optimal.
Wishlists
Participants add gift ideas for themselves. Your Secret Santa sees your list when they get their match.
Automatic Deadlines
Set a ranking deadline and we'll remind your group. If the organizer doesn't run the match, we do it automatically at midnight.
Status
Pick Your Secret Santa is live at pickyoursecretsanta.com. Create a ranked-choice Secret Santa exchange, invite your group, and let the algorithm find the optimal matching.