How to Use Your Babylist Registry as a Holiday Wishlist

If you’re a parent to younger kids, especially if it’s your baby’s first Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa or New Year, the winter holidays can sometimes mean lots of presents. In order to get ahead of the gift giving (thank you, well-meaning family members) and ensure you get what you really want and need, you might consider creating a holiday wishlist.

Just like a baby registry, a holiday wishlist of desired gifts for your baby or toddler can help guide family and friends toward the things you want your little one to have. And the good news is that if you already have a registry on Babylist, you don’t have to start your holiday list from scratch somewhere else. So you can build a wishlist just like you’d build a registry, but it’s totally cool to add fun stuff like matching holiday pajamas.

Here’s everything to know about using your Babylist registry as a holiday wishlist, plus some ideas for what to wish for.

How to use Babylist for your holiday wishlist

You’ve had your baby, and you’ve moved on from your baby registry, but don’t feel like you have to abandon the platform you know and love if there are more gifts you’d like to ask for. Babylist works just as well for holidays (especially gift-heavy ones like Christmas and Hanukkah) as it does for baby registries.

It’s super simple to create a separate, from-scratch wishlist using Babylist:

1. Log in to your Babylist account.
2. Go to https://www.babylist.com/registry/build and click on the “Holiday” box. You can also click on your profile name on the top right and select “New Holiday Wishlist” from the dropdown menu.
3. Select whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or another holiday, then enter all the information that friends and family will need to buy gifts for your kiddo, including clothing and shoe sizes, favorite things, what they need and what they don’t need.
4. Add a photo and a greeting message if you want, and your wishlist is ready to go!

Still have that Add to Babylist browser button? It works just the same as with your original registry. Add any item to your wishlist from anywhere on the internet with just a couple of clicks.

And of course the Babylist app still works perfectly for the holidays, and so do the product guides. There’s even a whole section of our website dedicated specifically to holiday gift guides, making it easy to add lots of stuff to your wishlist (including the perfect gifts for baby’s first Christmas).

Keep in mind: If you have multiple children, you’ll need to create separate wishlists for each child. (And while you’re at it, you need this gift guide of presents that siblings can share.)

To switch back and forth between multiple wishlists or registries, just click on your profile name in the upper right corner. From the drop-down list, click on “Switch Registry” and you’ll see all the registries and wishlists you’ve made on that account.

Repurposing your old Babylist registry

Don’t want to start from scratch? You can easily repurpose your existing Babylist baby registry into a wishlist for Lunar New Year, Easter or any holiday—even back to school! (Just be sure to remove any information about your due date and baby shower, since it’s no longer a baby registry.)

And if you still have items on your baby registry that were never purchased, that’s even less work for you to do—if you still want those things, leave them on your new wishlist. But if there are registry items on there that you don’t want anymore, you’ll have to manually delete them.

Why make a holiday wishlist for baby?

We get it, you may be thinking that it’s just another thing to add to your holiday to-do list. But making a wishlist for your little one’s holiday gifts can make things easier on both you and your family and friends who want to buy gifts for baby. A wishlist enables you (and kiddo) to get what you want so you can avoid gifts that end up as clutter. It also answers a question you’ll inevitably get over and over: “What should we get for the baby?”

If you had a Babylist baby registry when you were expecting, you probably already understand the perks of having a list of your must-have and most-wanted items readily available online. An online holiday wishlist has the same perks:

• Easy to curate
• Easy to organize by category
• Include direct links to specific items
• Easily include correct size and color info
• Easy to share (you can even share on social media or via text)
• Reduce the risk of doubling up on gifts since purchased gifts are automatically removed from the list
• Have the option to see what’s been purchased (and who bought it)
• Provide buying options so gift givers can choose their preferred store (Note: not every wishlist website has this perk, but Babylist does!)

What should you put on baby’s wishlist?

If you’re not sure what you need or where to start, or if you’re feeling like the list of things is never ending (understandable; babies seem to need a lot of stuff), we can make the process feel more manageable with our suggestions for what to include and how to organize your list.

Gift ideas for your holiday wishlist

You’re obviously not limited to these options; put anything you want onto baby’s wishlist! But these are the most popular wishlist items that family and friends love to give:

• Toys
• Books
• Clothes
• Experiences: zoo memberships, indoor playground passes, subscription boxes, classes—experiences are perfect for receiving from family who live far away, especially if anyone is traveling for the holidays (so you don’t have to cart back gifts or make extra space in your luggage).
• Baby gear
• Keepsakes, especially gifts to commemorate baby’s first Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, New Year or Lunar New Year.

The number of items on your list will be determined by a few factors, including the amount of space you have for new things in your home, the number of loved ones you anticipate getting gifts for your little one and how many you think they might give, any budget/gift price agreements you may have made with loved ones (assuming they actually stick to that agreement—if you have a family member who likes to go overboard every year despite being given a spending limit, narrowing your list by cost can help keep them in check) and whether you prefer a more minimalist approach to gift giving.

As you start gathering ideas for your kiddo’s wishlist, here are a couple more things to consider:

• Start by adding everything you want/everything that catches your eye, then pare down the items based on what you really want.
• Don’t expect to receive everything on the list. It would be amazing if you did get everything you asked for, but keep in mind that the longer your wishlist is, the less likely you are to get everything on it.

Gift Cards

Still stumped? Want to keep things simple and streamlined? Gift cards make an excellent holiday gift, especially for babies:

• Babies grow quickly and always seem to need new things—especially clothes—and gift cards can be saved until your baby’s next growth spurt (AKA shopping spree).
• Babies are expensive! Gift cards can contribute toward larger purchases or take care of everyday essentials (like all those diapers and wipes).
• Let’s face it: you’re busy. Gift cards allow you to conveniently get whatever you need right when your baby needs it instead of waiting for a gifting occasion.

How to organize a holiday wishlist

Using Babylist for your child’s holiday wishlist means you have the ability to organize your items into categories, which can make your curation process feel so much more streamlined. Specific categories can also help your friends and family as they’re going through the list and deciding what to get. There are a few ways to organize a wish list, and you can choose the one that works best for you:

By general category:

• Gear (bouncer, swing, carrier—any of the bigger items you may not have gotten off your registry)
• Toys
• Clothes
• Books
• Stage-based needs (great for babies just learning to walk and babies new to solid food)
• Gift cards and cash funds
• Keepsakes
• Christmas stocking stuffers or smaller, less expensive items

By minimalist category:

• Want (toys or fun extra gear)
• Need (stage-based items or bigger gear you may be missing)
• Wear (clothes and accessories)
• Read (books!)

By price range:

(Totally customizable based on any budget you’ve set; this is just an example of ranges that can help others decide what gifts to give):

• < $25
• $25–$50
• $50–$75
• $75–$100
• $100+