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. Use these free sites to discover the best gifts to give while staying within your budget.
With the help of technology, there are some ingenious ways to find the best gift to give someone. Smart algorithms can analyze people's Instagram profiles to uncover what they'll like. 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.
1. Matchbox (Web): Match Person and Interests to Find Amazon Recommendations
Matchbox is a simple, easy-to-browse gift recommendation engine. In a three-step process, it shows curated gift ideas based on who you're shopping for.
In the first step, select the person, such as a friend, sister, grandfather, mother, etc. Then add their age. In the second step, select that person's primary interest from categories like organization, creativity, sports, etc.
Matchbox will then display a list of gift ideas, all of which are available on Amazon. You can filter this list further by price range or categories (i.e. Amazon store categories). Click the Heart to add anything that looks interesting to your wishlist for later. And you can quickly restart the search too, while your wishlist is stored.
2. Wishy.gift (Web): Create a Wishlist to Share With Close Friends
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. Random Gift Idea (Web): Tinder for Gifts
Can't think of what gift to get for someone? Random Gift Idea has plenty of suggestions in a mobile-friendly website, using a Tinder-like interface where you swipe to discover more.
Swipe left to discard the current item for a new one. Swipe right to add an item to your wishlist. And find out more about any item by clicking the button to go to the product page.
Random Gift Idea has a few filters to narrow down the selection. You can set a price range from zero to 1000 dollars. And you can choose recipients like men, women, teen, baby, kids 4-7, and kids 8-12. It's a fun way to window shop for the coolest things online.
4. Gifthub (Web): Gift Ideas Based on Instagram Profiles
People let out more about themselves on their social media profiles than they think. Gifthub analyzes a person's Instagram profile to recommend gifts that they are bound to like. Just enter the username and let Gifthub work its magic. The products link to Amazon USA, and generally include an affiliate link.
You should get the username right otherwise Gifthub won't work. The company also doesn't explain how it arrives at the list of recommended products. When we tested it with our MakeUseOf Instagram account, it needed additional input on gender and age. That input wasn't needed with personal accounts.
Gifthub also has a Telegram bot to help you pick gifts for friends. It's a step-by-step chat based on multiple-choice answers, which will help Gifthub arrive at a suitable recommendation.
5. Wanderkind (Web): Creative Gifts to Educate and Entertain, for Kids and Adults
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. Your aunt always loved music, and 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.
6. How to Set Up a Christmas Budget (Web): Dave Ramsey's Money Saving Advice
If you aren't mindful of how much you are spending on each gift, you can quickly run over budget. In fact, credit card company reports show people taking on big debts during this time. 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.
A Digital, Distanced Christmas?
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the world indoors in 2020. With lockdowns, quarantines, and self-isolation, we have had to rethink how we celebrate holidays and go about our daily lives. Will this be a digital, socially distanced Christmas too?
However you choose to celebrate it, there are enough ways to make it enjoyable. More and more, people are finding solace through our digital world, whether it's video chat parties or sharing your recipes online. And you can always exchange gifts digitally on Christmas morning too.
