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Do I really need to make a wish list?

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On Thanksgiving, my father-in-law asked my 22-year-old nephew to please make a wish list. He also asked that he have his girlfriend make one so we can have gift ideas for her as well. My nephew just sort of looked at him and asked why. Well…we all know that I could have given him a thousand reasons why, but the most simple answer is this:

So we can give you something useful, something needed, something wanted.

That reason alone answers the question of whether or not you need a wish list with a resounding YES!!

While some may think that making a wish list is saying, “hey – give me stuff,” it’s really quite the opposite. Making and sharing gift wish lists is a great organized communication tool to help guide those who love you to useful, needed, and wanted gifts. This group of people will almost always give you something during the holidays, and the last thing they want to do is give you a gift that you find not useful, needed, or wanted.

One of the best parts about creating a wish list — especially with Giftster — is that you can add absolutely anything to your wish list. This includes gift preferences like clothing sizes, interests, and even dislikes as well as ideas for gift cards, stores you like to shop, and more. Having this information all in one place is useful not just during the holidays but all year.

So if you’ve asked someone to create a wish list and have been met with some resistance, ask them to create the list and at least update these 5 things:

 

1) Gift Preference Profile: This is one of the best things a person who doesn’t want to make a wish list could do for their family. List your clothing sizes. List some of your favorite things (could even be a charity you like to support, favorite band, types of movies, food, and more). List your hobbies and interests. And, one of the BEST pieces of info, what not to give you!

 

2) List at least one restaurant you frequent: Seriously…who wouldn’t love to receive a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts gift card? Or if coffee is not your thing, how about Jamba Juice? OH! How about ice cream? Baskin Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery anyone? Talk about one useful gift!

 

3) List at least one store you like to shop: It could be a clothing store, the grocery store, shoe store, home decor store, book store, yarn store (okay…maybe that last one is just some of my friends and me). It could be online, offline, small business…wherever you shop! A gift card to any of these is always welcome!

 

4) List at least one thing you often use that you could always have more of: For me, it’s a Skin Authority Olive, Fig, Shea Butter Body Cream. For my husband, it’s whole bean coffee (Kona coffee, maybe?). For my father-in-law, it’s 2-pocket flannel shirts. Even the littlest things could be a wonderful thing to receive as a gift!

 

5) List at least one favorite indulgence: Think chocolates, spirits, wine. Or maybe it’s massages, manicures, and pedicures. For my younger son, it’s slime supplies (which we sort of put a limit on because he would make slime ALL the time otherwise). Inquiring minds want to know what will knock your socks off!

 

Even if you don’t put links into your list, these five things alone will be incredibly helpful to those who are already planning to give you a gift.

Feel free to copy and paste these ideas into an email or send along the link to those in your world who haven’t yet made a wish list. If they’re already on Giftster but haven’t created a list, go to shop for others and click on their name. Click on gift preferences, and at the bottom of the page that displays, you’ll see a link that says Remind (your family member’s name) to update these preferences. An email box will come up where you can write a little note asking them to update their preferences and make a list. You can send it anonymously or sign your name to it…up to you!

And Timothy – do your family a solid and make a list!!

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