GiftFund crowdfunding app sponsored this post. All opinions are my own.
Most of us have at least a couple of family members or friends who we find hard to shop for. I personally tend to struggle to come up with gift ideas for teenagers (especially teenage boys) and men. With teenagers my struggle usually comes from how they want very specific gifts, and they are usually higher end items.
For my nieces, nephews and cousins I usually look for birthday or Christmas gifts around the $30 mark and a lot of the teens that I know don’t mention wanting anything in that price range.
The other group that I struggle to shop for is men. In my family a lot of the men work quite a bit and only have one or two hobbies like fishing, hunting or video games. I’m not familiar enough with hunting or fishing to know what type of gear someone could use or doesn’t already own. With video games, people generally have very specific tastes and have a specific wish-list of games so if I don’t know what games they already own or want – it’s really tough. Plus, most video games are in the $60 mark which is often outside of my budget when it comes to gifts for my siblings or Ryan’s siblings.
I was excited to learn about an app called Giftfund that allows family members or friends to pool together to donate towards a higher value gift. For example, if your teenage nephew wants a PS4 or laptop he could use Giftfund with the goal gift being his laptop, PS4 and it would list the retail price. To invite people to your Giftfund you can a text or email to any contact from the Giftfund app. Then when friends or family members learn about his Giftfund they can donate as much as they want towards that larger gift. I could donate $30, while grandma could pitch in $40, and so on. You can list a single gift or multiple gifts on your wish list. Once the Giftfund event has ended the individual who created the Giftfund wish list will be able to choose which of their gift(s) to purchase with the funds. If there is remaining money in the account it will be sent to the recipient in an Amazon gift card.
While Giftfund is a great way to join together to get people the gifts they really want for Christmas, it would also be great for baby showers, honeymoons and wedding showers. I’ve been to so many baby showers where the registry includes larger items like a car seat and a crib but it’s rare for any one person to be able to shoulder the entire expense. I’ve also looked at registries and been a bit disappointed with how many items are remaining for the amount I want to spend because I often have to just get an outfit or two when I can see that others have already purchased tons of clothing. I would love to be able to chip in towards those much needed expensive baby items instead of buying the baby it’s 38th newborn size outfit, and Giftfund would be a great way to make that happen.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
We have used this idea within our family for years but without an app. This would be an easier way to share funds for a gift but we would have to show G’ma and G’pa how to use the app!
I think this is a great idea for those of us with very practical gift-giving taste. I usually tell the other person what I need, usually not what I want, lol, because I am frugal and don’t want anyone to waste their money. Great for the newly married, just starting out.
I think this is a great idea. It will let the person get what they want instead of several small gifts that they do no really want. Thank you for the post, I can use this for Christmas this year.
What a wonderful idea! It would be wonderful for the big anniversaries and birthdays too. We were thinking of getting my parents a trip to Europe and this would be a wonderful way to fund them!
What a wonderful idea for big anniversaries andbirthdays! We were looking to get my parents a trip to Europe and this would be a perfect way to fund them by all the kids and grandkids!
I really like this idea! It can be hard to buy for teenagers and men and they may want something that’s too expensive for one family/person to purchase. I’m favoriting this page for sure. Thanks!!
Susan P.
Deb E
Jeanine
Rommel
mycraftingworld
rachel
Amber Ludwig
Natalie Brown
better to give, or get, one gift you really want than a bunch of small cheap gifts you dont really want