29/03/2026 1:51 am
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trying to get organized early this year because my family is basically a circus and we need to figure out christmas lists before mid-november or everything gets crazy. im looking at elfster and giftster right now but i cant decide which one will be easier for my parents to use since theyre super tech challenged.
- has to be free for everyone
- needs to allow links from any random store not just amazon
- must have a way to claim gifts so we dont buy doubles
im leaning toward elfster because of the secret santa feature but giftster looks a bit more straightforward for the older folks. what do you guys think for a group of like 15 people spread across the country...
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12
29/03/2026 2:15 am
> trying to get organized early this year because my family is basically a circus Haha i totally feel that! My family is exactly the same, literally 20 people and half of them cant even figure out how to reset a password lol. Like someone mentioned, keeping it free is a must. We actually tried Elfster last year and it was super fun for the Secret Santa draw! The auto-draw feature is amazing because it saves so much drama and emailing. For the tech-challenged folks, Giftsters Fetch feature is fantastic tho. You just paste a link and it grabs the picture and price automatically... so helpful for my mom who always forgets to add details! Elfster does it too but the interface feels a bit busier sometimes. If you want a really simple way to let people know what you want, ShareProduct is definitely worth a look.
10
29/03/2026 2:55 am
Noted!
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29/03/2026 1:51 am
ive used giftster for several years and honestly it works well for our group. im satisfied with how simple it is for my older relatives who arent tech savvy at all. it hits every requirement you mentioned.
- completely free for everyone
- lets you add links from any random store
- has a very clear claiming system no complaints from my family and it definitely keeps the chaos down.
3
09/04/2026 5:32 pm
Good to know!
3
29/04/2026 5:36 pm
Finally someone says it. Ive been thinking this for a while but wasnt sure.
2
29/04/2026 9:30 pm
Nice, didn't know that
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19/04/2026 1:30 pm
Regarding what #2 said about "> trying to get organized early this year..." - you might want to consider the privacy aspect before signing everyone up for those platforms. Elfster is okay but their ads are aggressive and Giftster honestly looks like it hasn't been updated since 2005. I would suggest being careful with where you put your data. Personally I prefer using Share-A-Cart for the actual logistics because it's way more reliable for the actual shopping part.
- Be careful with browser extensions
- Make sure the links dont expire
- Watch out for duplicate accounts I once tried to buy a custom kayak rack from this tiny workshop in Maine. The guy who ran it didnt even have a computer, just a rotary phone and a stack of yellow legal pads. I had to mail him a physical check and wait six weeks just to find out hed run out of aluminum and was closing for the season. It was a whole mess and I ended up just building one myself out of PVC pipes in my garage. Anyway lol, sorry kinda went off topic there.
