Use Giftster’s free, quick, and easy online gift lists to assemble the perfect care package for your college student during finals week. Have your college student create a wish list on Giftster with all of his or her needs and desires—from cookies to coffee to gift cards—and help them survive this difficult time with ease.

Log in to Giftster today to create your college care package. And if your student isn’t on Giftster, send them an invite to your group and ask them to create their wish list today.

Set up a wish list on Giftster with the items and quantities needed.  Invite all your friends, family, and other organization members to join your online Giftster group and watch as your donations are collected with ease.

Giftster eliminates much of the confusion and frustration that often comes with organizing charity and donation drives. For example, you can use Giftster to help collect donations for the local women’s shelter. List all of the items and their quantities, and group members can browse, reserve, or mark as purchased the item(s) they wish to donate. Using Giftster helps you avoid duplicates. This way, you don’t end up with 50 blankets, but no pillows!

Let Giftster take the headache out of organizing your charity drive so you can focus on giving back to your cause or community.

Start planning your charity drive with Giftster today!

This is one of the great things about Giftster.  It’s available to you all year round to update your wish lists, check on others’ lists, and keep track of gift giving events.

When you click on the events section of Giftster, it will give you a count down of when the next event will take place and how many shopping days you have remaining.

The News Feed section will keep you up to date with when others in your group last logged in and updated their lists.

If you have others that you’d like to have in your group, send them an invitation to Giftster and encourage them to create their list for you as well.

Take the time today to update your list and remind others to do the same.  It will help you stay on top of your gift giving for the year.

Log into your Giftster account.

A great gift to give for this occasion is one of a person’s favorite things.  Normally, people don’t spend the kind of money they would for a holiday or birthday, but they do want to have their Valentine’s gift be sentimental and thoughtful.  Giving a favorite thing – be it chocolate, coffee, tea, a gift card to a favorite place, a book, even a song download – can be a great surprise for Valentine’s Day.

Now with that said, you have to have some of these things put on your list in order to receive them.

On my list, I have a few different things segmented out: favorite things, gift cards, and charities.  On my favorite things list, I have things I use every day an enjoy such as tea and socks.  On the gift card list, I have places I visit regularly like Starbucks, Amazon, and a couple yarn stores.  On my charity list, I have listed some of my favorite charities where a donation on my behalf would be equally wonderful.

Take some time today to update your list with some of your favorite things so the special people in your life can give you something great for Valentine’s Day.

Adding events is easy:

1)  Log on to Giftster with your email address and password.

2)  Click on My Events.

3)  Click on Add Event.

4)  Fill in the title, description, date, and  how often the event will occur.

You can view events in two different ways.

1)  Click on Upcoming Events and see the events coming up in the next 90 days.

2)  Click on a group name to see the events for that group.

There will even be a count down to the events.

Log on to Giftster today and update your events.

Reconcile your current wish list.

Take a few minutes and remove any items on your current wish list that you may have received or have decided that you no longer want to receive.

Add items that you saw others receive.

Was there something you saw another person receive and you thought “hey – I’d like that, too?”  Add it to your list!  If they’re in your Giftster group and still have the item on their list, you can click on the star icon next to the item and it will be added to your list.


Make sure to update Giftster for your birthday.

Solve the “I don’t know what to give you for your birthday” problem for the gift givers in your life and update your Giftster list a few weeks or so before your birthday.


Update Giftster throughout the year.

I’ve had a number of times when I’ve seen something and thought, “I should add that to my wish list.:”  Before Giftster, those things never really ended up on any list.  Now, I can keep my list updated all year and you can, too.


Take Giftster with you on the go.

Giftster has an iPhone app that allows you to take your wish list and shopping list wherever you go.  Learn more.


Update your group with Events.

Do you have an upcoming event planned?  Keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, showers and more with the Events section of Giftster.  This way, you won’t forget those important gift giving occasions (and neither will the others in your group).


Log on to Giftster today.

Janice Monarrez points out in her article Dear Santa: Here’s My Registry that “seeing what’s on other people’s registries could lead to competitive gift-seeking.”  In the article, Monarrez has interviewed Simon Garcia, associate professor of psychology and organizational studies at the University of Michigan about people making social comparisons about theirs and others’ wish lists: high priced items on one list versus low priced on another; high end stores versus discount retail or big box stores.

This can definitely put a damper on gift giving, but in my opinion, it’s all about perspective.

While most people don’t expect to receive a gift outside of their immediate family (parents, grandparents, spouses, children, etc.), there may be those who know that someone is going to give them a gift.  For most people, what a person’s gift anticipation is of another better determines what kind of gift they may receive, and with that in mind, the gift list creator can wish accordingly.

I know that this is the case in my life.

I think of my own holiday gift anticipation in a tiered method.  I anticipate that, out of all the gifts I receive this holiday, my husband will most likely spend the most on my gifts.  Next are likely to be my parents, followed by my in-laws, then maybe my sister-in-law, cousins and best friends, and lastly my young kids and possibly my nieces and nephews.

When I created my own Giftster wish list, I added things that I would not only really like, but would also fit into any of these people’s budgets.

I have some jewelry listed on my wish list that I think would be nice to have.  I anticipate that my husband may choose something from this portion of my list.  I’m not expecting such extravagance from my sister-in-law or friends or cousins.

Also on my list are books, a couple movies, and some crochet tools I’d like to have.  While my husband could very well choose something from this portion of my list, I anticipate that it is more likely the others in my gift giving group may pick something from here.

I also have items listed that are inexpensive but no less desired.  One of my most favorite things is fun socks: striped socks, polka dotted socks, socks with cartoon characters – you get the idea.  I would be just as excited to get a fun pair of socks as I would a piece of jewelry on my list.  Why?  Because this is what I enjoy and my personal valuation of these items are equal, even though they do indeed have a difference in price.

Therefore, it’s important to know the gift givers in your life and list your wishes accordingly so those anticipated gift givers can give you the best possible gift within their budget.  No one should feel their gift is any less “worthy” because of the amount they spent on it.  If you didn’t want it, you wouldn’t have listed it.  The important thing si that the gift giver thought about you, they considered your thoughts when giving the gift by checking your Giftster wish list, and if you ask me, that’s a great thought that counts.

What makes the Giftster mobile gift registry so great?

By being mobile, you can take your Giftster with you wherever you go: while you’re shopping gifts, at family gatherings to help others make lists, while you’re at a specific store and you see things you’d like to add to your list.

One of my favorite mobile Giftster features that I can’t wait to use this holiday is the shopping list.  I already use my iPhone to make shopping lists when I go to the grocery store.  Now, I will have my Giftster shopping list at my fingertips loaded with all the items I’ve reserved off of others’ lists from my group.  And the minute I buy them, I can mark them purchased.

Giftster on my iPhone will also be great to use at Thanksgiving.  My mom, who enjoys Christmas as much now as she did as a kid, doesn’t like using the computer, but loves that I help her with her Giftster list.  She’s always asking me to add things on her list and check others’ lists for her.  At Thanksgiving, I plan to sit down with her, iPhone in hand, and update her list.

And just like Giftster is online, the app can be downloaded for free!

Download the Giftster app through the Apple app store today and have as much fun using it as I will this holiday season.

To help get those list making juices flowing, I’ve come up with 10 questions you can ask yourself to help build a great wish list so the gift givers in your life can be pointed in the right directions.

Where do you like to shop?

Gift cards are always a quick and easy gift for people to give, but if someone gives you a gift card where you don’t shop, the gift is a miss.  To help your friends and family give gifts that are a hit, make a list of some of your favorite places to shop.


What is your favorite restaurant?

Could be someplace you like to sit and eat, could be a restaurant you frequent on the run.  List some of your favorite places to eat for great gift card gifts.


What do you need?

Could be something for your home, office, school, dorm room, or closet.  Could be big, could be small.  Add it to your list and you may just receive it as a gift.


What are your hobbies?

One of my favorite gifts to receive is something that has to do with one of my hobbies, reading and crocheting.  Part of my list is dedicated to books and crochet tools that I would like to have, but wouldn’t necessarily buy myself.


What are your favorite snacks or drinks?

My husband loves to give consumable gifts.  But if you give a tea drinker a pound of coffee as a gift, you may get that “oh – gee – thanks” response.  Knowing a person’s favorites when it comes to snacks and beverages will go a long way in giving a great gift.  This is also a great low cost gift item to add if you have family members who love to give gifts but are working on a tight budget.


What are your favorite products that you may run out of?

This is another great consumable gift type to give.  This could be personal care items like lotions, soaps or shampoos.  It could even be cooking items like spices or cooking oils.  If you cook outdoors, you could even add your favorite brand of charcoal or wood chips for smoking.  This is often another low cost gift idea for those on a budget.


What are you saving for?

Do you have something in your house that needs replacing and you need to save up for it?  Is there that really cool electronic gadget that you’d love to have but just don’t have the money to get?  List what you’re saving for and you may find that multiple people will give you gift cards to put towards that big purchase.


What is your favorite leisure activity?

Could be golfing, going to the movies, bowling, or something else that you must pay for before participating in or going to.  Just like the hobby question, receiving a gift towards your favorite leisure activity can go far.


What are your favorite things?

For me, it’s fun socks.  For my friend, it’s stuffed teddy bears.  Add some of your favorite things to have or collect on to your wish list.


Where do you like to donate your time or money?

I have many family members who have specifically told me they don’t want gifts, but I still like to do something for them for the holidays.  Making a donation to their favorite charity can fulfill the gift giving and receiving need.  It doesn’t take up room in the person’s house and it helps support a cause or charity that is meaningful to them.  I know for one friend in particular, a donation to the animal shelter she volunteers her time at would be just as great of a gift as something just for her.


You may not have answers to all these questions and that’s okay.  This is just a great exercise to go through to help you get started on your wish list.  And now that I’ve written this, I have some more ideas for my own wish list!

Update your Giftster wish list today.

Remind your group to update their MyGiftster list so you can begin planning. Not everyone may jump in and get their lists current, but you can at least plant the seed now.  This way, when they see something they’d like as a gift, they can remember “hey – time to put that on my MyGiftster list.”

Start getting your budget together. While you may not be able to get your “to purchase” list together right away, you can get your budget ready.  Set your budget and, if you haven’t done so already, begin to set aside some money for those gifts.

Scope out the stores. If you know a person in your group likes a certain store from the other items they have on their list, begin to  scope out the stores.  Take the time to join the store’s mailing list (either email or regular mail) or follow them on Facebook and/or Twitter.  You may get extra opportunities to save money with coupons or other special offers.

Login to MyGiftster today and begin your holiday gift planning.