Most Secret Santa generators send you to a website and ask for everyone's email address. Here everything stays in Telegram: no sign-up, no email, no extra app, and nobody has to share a phone number. The other players only see your Telegram first name.
After the draw the fun goes on in private. Ask your person an anonymous question, get a message when they update their wish list, or let the bot write a poem or card for them. Buying a shared gift or booking the dinner? One tap starts a cost split with the same group.
What you get
- Free for up to 8 people, groups up to 40 with one gift credit
- Wish lists you can still change after the draw
- An optional budget that everyone sees in their message
- Anonymous questions to your person, with the answer sent back to you
- A poem or card for your person, written by the bot
- Everyone gets the messages in their own Telegram language (12 languages)
- A cost splitter for the shared gift: who owes whom, with as few transfers as possible
How it works
- Tap the button below. The bot opens in Telegram and asks for a group name, for example Family Christmas 2026, and an optional budget per gift.
- You get an invite link. Post it in your Telegram group chat, or send it to anyone who should take part.
- Everyone opens the link, taps Start and adds a few wish list ideas. You get a message each time someone joins.
- Once at least 3 people are in, tap 🎲 Draw names. Each person gets a private message with their name, wish list and the budget.
- Keep it secret, ask anonymous questions and, if you like, split the cost of a shared gift or dinner afterwards.
Questions
How do I run Secret Santa in a Telegram group?
Start a draw in the bot, post the invite link in your group chat and wait until everyone has joined. Then tap 🎲 Draw names: the bot sends every person their name in a private message.
Do I have to add the bot to the group?
No. You only share the link in the group chat. Everyone joins in a private chat with the bot, so the names never show up in the group itself.
Is it free?
Yes, for groups up to 8 people. A bigger group (up to 40 people) costs one gift credit, paid with Telegram Stars. You need at least 3 people to draw.
How does the draw stay secret?
The bot draws at random and puts everyone in one big circle, so nobody gets their own name. Each person only learns who they're buying for, and the organiser takes part like everyone else, without an overview of who has whom.
Can people join who aren't in our group chat?
Yes. Anyone with the link can join, so you can also send it by text or email. They do need a Telegram account. Once the names are drawn, nobody new can join.
Do we need phone numbers, email or WhatsApp?
No. Everything happens in Telegram. Nobody signs up or shares an email address or phone number, and in the draw people only see each other's Telegram first name.
How do the budget and wish lists work?
You set the budget when you create the group, or skip it. Everyone adds a wish list when they join and can change it any time. If they change it after the draw, their Secret Santa gets the new version automatically.