A wishlist for a child, run by a grown-up
Children are the easiest people to buy for and the easiest to buy badly for. They want three specific things and are given eleven general ones, half of them the same.
A parent holds the list
The account belongs to you, not the child. You write down what they have asked for, in the words that make it findable — the exact set number, the right character, the size they are actually in now rather than last winter.
Relatives at a distance are the ones this helps most. They are the most likely to guess, the most likely to duplicate, and the least likely to be told.
The surprise survives
Reservations are hidden from whoever owns the list. If that is you, you will not know what is coming either — which is the right default when the child is standing behind you at the screen.
Nobody needs an account to reserve, which matters when the list has to work for a grandparent on a tablet.
It grows with them
Keep a birthday list running from year to year and edit it as they change. The link never changes, so the family never has to be sent a new one.
Does my child need an account?
No. The list belongs to your account and you manage it. Children never sign in and never need an email address.
Can I stop the list showing my child’s full name?
Yes. The name on the page is whatever you type when you create the account, so a first name or a nickname is fine.
Can relatives see what everyone else has bought?
They see which gifts are taken and who is bringing them, which is what prevents duplicates. You do not see any of it.
What about children who cannot read yet?
Write the list from what they have said out loud. Most of the value is in the specifics — sizes, set numbers, which character — and those come from you anyway.