What do you think of wish lists?

[hoppybird]

The family I married into always make 'wish lists' for birthdays and Christmases, which get circulated around the family, rather like a wedding list would.

Lists are always far longer than the actual number of presents you expect to get, so that there's some element of surprise, but you get what you actually want. Are there many other families out there who do this type of thing?

Reason I ask, apart from curiosity, is that one of my business clients asked us to do a 'not for profit' wish list site aimed at kids, and we weren't sure how much of a demand there was for such a thing. Would you use an online wishlist, or let your child loose on one?

We do a Christmas list for DD. But this is at people's request. We get asked by family what she wants, so I right it all down and give it to them, I always include the latest ELC codes, etc too. And I find out what people are buying to make sure others don't get it too. Works for us.

Wish lists are great.
My kids use wishlists on Amazon and Lego sites.
They also give lists to relatives who ask - most do now.

We have some lovely generous relatives, who always spend a lot of money on the boys, but rarely see them from one year to the next. So there is no way they can choose an appropriate present without suggestions.

I swear by it - stops the MIL buying me countless ornaments that I can't stand!

Indeed, I live by them. The only way to stop Inlaws buying crazy presents things DD outgrew 6 months ago. Still, they insist on choosing some things themselves... which are usually totally inappropriate, from somewhere obscure and goes straight down the charity shop on the 27th!!

My family live by them, and I have to say it makes life so much easier, particularly as then I don't have to bother thinking about what to buy. Not sure I would use an online version though, might seem a little too much like I was expecting gifts for DD, iykwim!

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Genius idea. Makes sure that you get something you really want/need, rather than well-intentioned crap that gets stuck in a closet, binned or taken to the charity shop. Saves relatives the angst of hoping they've chosen the right thing, and also stops them "wasting" their money.

Good idea for kids, but I think it's silly for grown-ups. I always get told what to buy for MIL and FIL and sometimes they even buy their own presents and just tell us how much to transfer to the bank!!!!!!!!!

I like em - we always circulate lists.. again, far more than we would ever expect to get, so that there is surprise. Often there is one thing with a * as a "must have" type thing, but apart from that, just take your pick.

My dad is a different matter though... he needs specific things, preferably with links to where he can buy them, or you end up with all manner of bizzare things and nothing that you really wanted!!

I feel that if money is being spent to give something, then I would rather it is something that will be used.

We always got to make a list for santa to knw what to shop for... by the time Christmas actually comes, its normally been all forgotten, so its a big surprise

essbee - LOL @ your cow udder candle!! However, I have asked for a frying pans, a garlic crusher and ecoballs as presents in the past! I love practical things though, and they bring me as much joy as any other 'girly' type present.

So there's more of you out there that use wish lists?! I'd only ever seen them at weddings before I met dh, but I also think it's a really good idea for birthdays and Christmases, especially after seeing what the family bought when not restricted by a list - the three foot tall easter chick with 6 inch long moulting fluff, bought by my fil for ds's first Easter, springs to mind. Coincidentally, my mil bought a gigantic moulting bunny rabbit for the same occasion. Both went straight into the loft (after they left).

I've still got reservations about the online kind of wish list, as you can only give them to people with an email address, and I'm not sure as to how many people have entire families who are online. Saying that, we have used our own online wish list creator that we made, and it certainly worked for us. I could do a link to it, if anyone's interested in having a look - not sure if I should though :\

Can you not just print out the online kind?

I LOVE wish lists. I like to get people what they want, not what I think they might want. A list clarifies this for me.

That's a good idea, flamesparrow!

We've got a mailout facility for the online list, and it'll be easy to add a button to 'print list for non-online relatives' that you can send out. Darn it! That's so obvious. You don't charge commission, do you, flamesparrow?

Just all proud of myself for thinking of something!! What's your site??

This is the way we have always done things in my family. The lists are always way longer than we would expect to receive but it helps to provide a combination of surprise/what you actually want. And some of the things you can be specific on but others that you are less particular about you can just state generally. So I might put down one or two specific items of clothes I've seen in the shop but then also something more general like a pair of slippers but not specify which. I do them for the kids also and discuss with DS (4) what he would like and then add on my ideas but asterisk the ones he has suggested himself. This year there are a couple of additions to his playmobil and lego collections he has specified and also he is dead set on wanting Gruffalo's child because he knows he's got all the other ones. DD is only 1 and so her wish list is much smaller because there is very little that she really wants/needs apart from hair clips and tights both of which she gets through at a rapid rate.

These days we tend to e-mail them around the family so online would work for us.

The site we made is called Kids Wish List . There are adverts on it, but you don't have to use those stores, you can put links to any website you want on the list as it's an independent.

Oooh how cool is that?!

Glad you like it, flamesparrow.

Hausfrau - yes, I think books in particular are a good thing to put on a list, particularly if you have pre-school children, as some adults don't seem to have a clue as to what is appropriate.

Also listing DVDs on a wishlist is a great idea, as they're a nice, easy present to buy someone, but you really have to know that it's not going to duplicated, which can easily happen.

Can't believe none of the "Oh it's so mercenary" believers who disagree with wedding lists haven't jumped in here

Personally, I think it's a great idea.

Are there people who disagree with wedding lists? I must've missed those threads.

I just thought wedding lists were the standard thing to do, more so these days, when people live together before they get married, and it's not so blindingly obvious which gifts to buy for them as it was in the past, when the gifts were intended to set up a new home for the happy couple.

lol - I'm impressed that you've managed to miss squabbly wedding threads!! It seems to be that everyone can be offended in some way with weddings though - lists upset some, vouchers upset others, and asking for money is a shootable offence.

LOL, in that case, I would have upset plenty of people AND been shot! Although our 'wedding list' simply stated that we have already set up a home, so all we needed now was a glass of Aussie Shiraz and some euros to enjoy our honeymoon.

We live in a small flat and I get upset when people buy physically huge presents which aren't on a list as there's limited space. Stupidly gigantic moulting fluffy toys being one example. A giant hotwheels set for ds is another - literally no room to set it up, and this from a friend of the family who has visits us frequently, and frequently hears us complaining about lack of space!

You don't want to appear ungrateful, but you just have to put on your best smile and say "oh, how THOUGHFUL!", whilst desparately trying to reign in the sarcasm, as you're presented with inappropriate, massive gifts you have no room for.

I got shot too

I love wish lists - I always do one for DS and would love to start doing them with family and friends but I'm worried that they'll be offended.

The only thing with DS's list is that a lot of things are from catalogues and I wouldn't want each present buyer to have to pay the £4 P&P. I wish the catalogues would do lists whereby the gifts are paid for and perhaps all sent directly to the person they're for and then the parent (or whoever set up the list) will cover the P&P (which could be free anyway if the total is over a certain amount).