Make a birthday wishlist and share one link

Parents of party guests often ask what to bring, and a class full of guests can easily produce three of the same toy. One link in the party invite fixes that: each parent picks an idea, marks it as bought, and the next parent sees it's covered.

Because you made the list, your own page won't show which ideas are taken. That keeps it a surprise for you too. If you'd rather keep track of what's still free, open the share link on a phone or computer you haven't edited the list on; there it shows the marks, the way guests see them.

With the invitation, or about two weeks before the day if there's no invite. People shop at different speeds, and online orders need time to arrive. Sharing it early also saves you answering the same question from several people.

You can keep editing after you've shared it. If someone gives you something early, remove it, and everyone with the link sees the update next time they look.

Your list stays up while people are using it. It's deleted automatically after 90 days with no activity (or 30 days after the event date, if that's later), and any edit or bought mark resets that clock. Birthdays are a year apart, so plan on making a fresh list each year rather than reusing last year's.

That fresh start is useful in its own right: tastes and sizes change, and last year's ideas won't still be marked as bought.

Think about who will be buying. Close family may want to spend more than a colleague or a classmate's parent, so a spread of prices lets everyone pitch in at a level that suits them.

• For a child: toys or books suited to their age now, with the exact edition linked.
• For a milestone birthday: an experience, such as a class or tickets, alongside smaller gifts.
• For anyone: something consumable they'll use up, like a favorite treat or bath product.
• Sizes, colors and models in the notes, so nobody has to guess.

There's no pooling or payment feature. The list records only that an item is taken. If a few people want to share a bigger present, they can agree it between themselves and have one of them mark it as bought, so everyone else knows it's covered.