How the Drawing Works
- 1
Add everyone
Type names or paste a list you already have. Whoever is organizing can take part or be left out of the draw.
- 2
Set who cannot draw whom
Couples, housemates, whoever swapped last year. Mark a pair and the drawing works around them.
- 3
Everyone draws their own name
Each person opens their own link and draws at any time. No one has to share a phone, and no one can see which names are left.
- 4
Add wishlists
After drawing, everyone can add what they would like, with photos, and only the person who drew them sees it.
Built for a Family Pollyanna
A Pollyanna is usually a family exchange, run across several households, and often with people who are not there when the names are drawn.
No one has to be in the same place
A paper draw needs everyone at one table, often at Thanksgiving. Here each person draws from their own link, at any time and from anywhere.
No one draws their own name
The generator refuses to hand out an invalid drawing. If your rules leave no valid combination, it tells you rather than quietly producing a broken one.
One address can cover several people
A parent looking after two children can hold all three sets of details under one address, as many family exchanges do.
Wishlists, with photos
Everyone can list what they would like and attach photos, or share a product straight from a shopping app, and only the person who drew them can see it.
Pollyanna Themes
A Pollyanna draw can carry a theme the whole family sees: on the draw itself, the group pages, the invite page, the emails and the link preview. Stocking and Gingerbread suit a December draw. Themes are a paid upgrade.
StockingEvergreen, with a Christmas stocking
GingerbreadWarm brown, with a cookie jar
Pollyanna Questions
Yes. You can share one link instead of entering everyone yourself, and each person adds their own name and email address. You set how many can join and when the link closes, and you draw names when you are ready.
The same game, a different name for it. Everyone draws one person and buys one gift for them, in secret. Pollyanna is what it tends to be called around Philadelphia, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
They are different games, and the app treats them differently. A Pollyanna assigns each person someone to buy for, so conflicts and wishlists matter. A White Elephant has everyone bring one gift and take turns picking or stealing, with no assignments at all. If that is what your group does, pick that instead at setup and the app draws a running order rather than names.
Yes. Each person gets a personal link and draws at any time, so the group does not need to meet on the same evening.
No. No one needs an account, a password or an email address to take part. A link is enough. If you do have addresses, sending everyone their link by email is free and needs no upgrade.
Add them and reset the drawing so everyone is assigned again. If a change leaves the drawing broken, the organizer gets a banner explaining exactly what is wrong along with a one-click reset.