The season of gift-giving can cause a lot of stress as you worry about what to get, and how much it's going to cost.
But with the help of technology, there are some ingenious ways to find the best gift to give someone.
You can create wishlists to share with friends or look through catalogs based on who you're shopping for and their interests. And all while using tactics to save money.
In this article, we look at several free sites that help you discover the best gifts to give while staying within your budget.
1. Expertly Chosen
Expertly Chosen recommends gifts based on your recipient’s interests. The website’s gift recommendation experts are active contributors to their own areas of interest. They are often bloggers, forum moderators, and other people who invest lots of time and effort into their hobby.
For example, if your recipient is a photography enthusiast, add that interest into Expertly Chosen and drag the gift spending slider to stay within budget. Then, you’ll be provided with a list of good gift items curated by fellow photographers! Simply tap on the link to be directed to the product page.
Besides interests, you can also specify the type of gift your recipient prefers. For example, you might want to get something useful and practical, rustic and romantic, or eco-friendly and organic.
2. Wishy.gift
If you're exchanging gifts with your family or a small group of friends, Wishy.gift's shared wishlists will make shopping easier. It's a simple, free web app to add and claim items.
Once you register for an account, you can create a wishlist and share it with friends. Each item in the wishlist has space for a name or description and a link, which will make it easier for friends to buy the right item. You can also add multiple numbers of an item (like five pairs of socks) so that different people can claim one each.
As a recipient of a list, you can claim a gift idea so that there aren't repeats. You can also see which items have already been claimed by others. It's a remarkably easy mechanism to understand.
Wishy.gift is great for small groups where everyone is gifting everyone else. You can also use it for charities or donation drives, to lend a helpful hand during the holidays.
3. Uncommon Goods
Uncommon Goods is an online gift retailer you might have not heard of yet. This is because, unlike many large retailers who simply sell yet another common, mass-produced product, the company focuses on handcrafted and unique goods. The site serves to connect talented, independent makers with buyers who are on the lookout for such products.
Uncommon Goods’ Gift Finder helps you figure out the perfect gift. Simply key in your relation to the recipient, select their age group, and add their interests to view products suitable for them. If you’re concerned that these artisan goods might cost a lot, remember to set the price range to filter for items that match your budget.
As you browse through the suggestions, it’s best to star a potential gift item so that the site’s algorithm can provide more items relevant to your search. All products listed on Uncommon Goods are leather, fur, and feather-free, and a lot of them are eco-friendly too.
4. GiftGen
Gift Gen is a gift idea generator. The website recommends gifts based on four factors: your budget, the recipient’s age, their personality, and gender. The results will include links to Amazon or Etsy where you can find the relevant item, links to compare prices, as well as shops and brands that specialize in selling that item.
As an additional note, Gift Gen also lets you choose “Nothing” as your budget if you’re tight on money. The gift ideas generated from this limit will mostly center around simple DIY items, printables, or virtual gifts.
5. Dodo Burd
Dodo Burd helps you to find gifts by recipient, occasion, category, and age. The types of gift suggestions range from geeky tech gadgets, subscription boxes, to food baskets, and more.
Dodo Burd’s blog posts cover all sorts of gifting scenarios imaginable. Wondering what to get for a friend who already has everything? What to buy for a parent who says they don’t want anything? These are answers you’ll find on the site!
You can also type a keyword into the website’s search bar. For instance, you can type the word “horse.” Dodo Burd will then direct you to their own blog post that details a long list of gifts for horse lovers. Each recommended gift carries a link to the relevant platform where you can buy it.
6. Wanderkind
You can't predict the impact that your gift will have. Gift a child their first set of watercolors and a paintbrush, and you might just inspire the next Picasso. If your aunt always loved music, then a harmonica might be the gift that unlocks unbridled joy in her. These are the types of gifts that entertain, educate, and delight. That's what Wanderkind is all about.
Wanderkind collects gift ideas that focus on discovery, movement, learning, and creativity. It's a carefully selected list of items that are built to last ("no cheap plastic" is a rule they adhere to), are a lot of fun for all ages, and spark an innate joy.
That said, Wanderkind is careful to pick items that look good as gifts, and aren't simply utility pieces. For example, for a fantasy book lover, they recommend a well-crafted box set of The Lord of the Rings books. The gifts have a wide price range and come in a variety of categories.
7. Ramsey: How to Set Up Your Christmas Budget
If you aren't mindful of how much you are spending on each gift, you can quickly run over budget. If you want to save money over the holiday season, take personal finance guru Dave Ramsey's advice on how to set up a Christmas budget.
In his blog post, Ramsey recommends making a zero-based budget. This means you won't take on any debt, and includes tips like setting up a Christmas fund, tweaking budget lines, and being meticulous.
As usual, Ramsey recommends his app EveryDollar to put this into practice, but you can use any expense tracker or budgeting app. It's universal advice that you could even put into use with a pen and paper.
Find the Perfect Gift for Your Loved Ones
The lead-up to a special occasion or holiday should be a fun and exciting one. So, if you’ve been struggling and unable to think of the right gifts to get for your friends and family, we hope our list of suggested sites has given you new ideas and put you at ease!
Whatever your budget, there is a gift you can find, or at least make on your own. Start with each recipient’s age and interests, and you’re bound to find something they’ll like.