How to Get Your Friends and Family the Perfect Gift

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Holiday shopping has always been hard! My childhood memories include getting socks and nail polish most years.

From the receiving end, I hated the feeling.

So when shopping for others I always wanted to go the extra mile and take time to think of what my loved ones needed or desired.

The thought of a simple gift card felt like I was giving up or didn’t know them enough to know what they wanted.

I thought and I thought about who they were, what kinds of things I’ve heard them say before.

Unfortunately, I often found, that the thing they most needed wasn’t found in a store.

Every human has the innate desire to feel appreciated and supported.

We love these people that touch our lives on a daily basis and during the holiday season we wish to express it.

Don’t we?!

But, how do you share the love and joy you feel for a person when it doesn’t come in a box and the Christmas expectation is that you participate in the gifting tradition.

Have you ever felt feelings like these?:

 

We spend countless hours wondering what should we get them and wonder if they’d use it.

Well, this year I’ve decided, why wonder when I could just ask and give them the tools to send me their holiday wish list.

As a Professional Organizer, it’s all too familiar.

The angst that you feel when parting with something you didn’t quite want.

We don’t want to make our loved one feel rejected or unappreciated for the effort they made to show us their love.

But we can’t keep hiding it in a closet and hoping the feeling goes away.

So in an effort to help you keep clutter away and to help keep those warm and fuzzy feelings for the holidays and your family.

I have an extra special idea to share.

I was scouring the internet and came across this post from Pretty Providence, this website also has many beautiful gift ideas, anyway I had never thought of using Amazon for anything else besides quick household and business shopping needs.

So a lightbulb went on and I decided to create a printable/email attachment to make the Christmas request extra magical.

So here’s what you will want to do:

Make a list

Start off by making a list of everyone you want to give gifts to, family, friends and any acquaintances that made you feel extra special this year.

On the second row, add any email addresses you have for your loved ones.

For those, you are missing.

Take advantage and make a connection via a call or a quick text.

Let them know you’ve been thinking about them and are updating your contacts.

To take it a step further, you can even request their mailing address.

You’ll really be organized and ready for their birthday or any other special occasion they may have.

Create the Email Request

You can either send an email to one individual or batch it into a group. In any case, type the addresses on the top bar of your email.

Use this template to create your request:


Hello family,

I am really looking forward to seeing you this Christmas!!! We’ve got lots of catching up to do and I really can’t wait to see you. This holiday season I want to get you a gift that will support you. So rather than guess, I’d love it if you drop me your Amazon wishlist link and I can forward you the link to those that participate and together we can make holiday shopping less stressful and more jolly. 😉

Love you,

Sign your name


(Now choose ONE of the following graphics to paste to the bottom of your message.)

 

 

Send the email request

As the initiator of this e-mail request.

You will be able to keep track of everyone’s wish list.

Then you can turn around and send a copy of the master list to everyone else if you’d like.

Your family will love you for making things easy and streamlined this year.

No need to be sneaky or play guessing games.

Keep it simple and streamlined.

The more we think about something with no end, the more energy we leak.

That’s why I’m making it easy for you to copy and paste. So you can get done with your shopping and onto the fun stuff.

Follow-up

As your emails come in click the button to “add them as friends” and then copy and paste the link to their Amazon wish list to your online spreadsheet.

This way you will see who you’re missing.

Then save your document and send a copy to everyone.

Since your Amazon account will be following them as friends, it’s easy to see how this will save you countless hours of guessing and searching for the right gift at stores. It will be your gift of time over and over again.

Shop for that special gift

Now go through your loved ones’ lists and add what you’d like to get them directly to your cart.

Make a note on your list of what you got them.

The great thing about this wishlist idea is that if you purchase something for your nephew, then nobody else can add that item to their cart.

Avoiding duplicate gifts.

Tell’em what you want, what you really really want.

Be sure to send your wish list link as well.

It’s a great opportunity to tell your mom or in-laws what you’d like for your kids instead of more toys.

Yeah, the struggle is real………..Use everything you’ve got keep the clutter out of your sanctuary. 😉

I hope you enjoy Christmas shopping this year and most importantly that you are able to embrace your loved ones and create memorable moments.

 

Tell me: Who on your list has been the hardest to shop for and has you feeling the most excited, now that you’ve discovered this tip?

 

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4 Comments

  1. Gift giving can be challenging. Some people are harder to shop for than others. I love your suggestion of not being shy. Be direct and ask for the list of what your family and friends want. We don’t celebrate Christmas, but we do celebrate birthdays. I remember the year when our youngest daughter, who was about eight years old at the time, asked us to give her “experiences instead of things.” We continued to honor that request as she grew. For her, it wasn’t about the stuff, but about the time together doing fun things.

  2. I really appreciate the Amazon wish list for my distant & adult gift recipients. I love picking out surprises for little ones, but adults are (frankly) picky. When they live far away, I have no idea what they have and what they would really like. It’s worked out for me!

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