Gaming on a Budget: Gifts are Free

Yeah yeah yeah, there's no such thing as a free lunch and all that, but barring any emotional debt that your family and friends might put on you, the holidays are a great time to pad out your gaming collection for free- all you've got to do is let people know what you want.  And with Chanukah now underway, Christmas around the corner, Kwanza coming soon or having just happened (?), and your birthday coming up some time between now and this time next year it's never too early or too late to get your gift list out there.

Among my family circle, I'm commonly regarded as the most difficult person to shop for during the holidays.  Not so much of late, but in the past I've generally had enough money to get what I want when I want it, so I tended not to drop those subtle hints like 'man that H.R. Giger coffee table book sure is sweet; I'd sure like something like that.'  As such, I've made buying thoughtful gifts nearly impossible for my family.  It's become so bad that nowadays they just flat out ask me what I what.  Well, let's give the people want they want! 


Lucky for me, the Internet has come to my rescue these last few years to make it easier for me to share my Christmas list with everyone. 

Below are 3 ways that you can use technology to your advantage and let everyone know what you'd like without being a total twat.

1. E-mail a list.  This one's easy.  Dig way back to your Kindergarten years and remember your "Dear Santa/Chanukah Harry" letters, except now you just need to write to your parents or other friends and family because (spoiler alert) there is no Santa.  If you're feeling extra helpful you might want to e-mail links to the things you'd like.  The drawback of doing this is that it's difficult to share this type of list with more than one person.  Sure it's really easy to CC your e-mail to your entire address book, but ensuring you don't get doubles of gifts will require such super tough things as communication on your family's end.  I know hard, right?  This brings us to #2....
2. Site Wishlists.  Any major gaming store or company should have its own wish list function.  These work very simply.  Browse the site's store and click the items you want to put them on your wishlist rather than in your cart.  Then all you've got to do is let your loved ones know where they can shop for you.  This is probably best done via e-mail.  Now you've got a list for everyone that will show what's already been purchased so you don't get two of anything (unless you want duplicates).  It's like a wedding registry for your marriage to the hobby.  But what if you are looking for things from more than one site?  While you could send links to GW dot com, Battlefront dot com, FRPgames dot com, and ten other sites, there is another solution- and it just so happens to be #3.
3. Amazon wish lists-  One list to rule them all.  In the odd event that Amazon isn't selling something you're looking for or in the fairly likely event that you've found it somewhere else cheaper, Amazon has a function for you.  Not only is their wishlist capable of storing all of the products that they sell, but it is now capable of storing items from external sites.  All you need to do is download their wishlist button for your browser (available here for US users).  They're even kind enough to give you a notes section to record things like sizes for clothes and all that.  It couldn't be much simpler, really.

And that's that everyone.  Enjoy your free stuff this holiday season.  Just make sure you buy some gifts for other people, unless you want Krampus to beat the shit out of you.

If you've got a hot tip for getting what you want this holiday season or want access to my Amazon wish list (you know to reward me for all my hard work on your behalf this past year :p ) hit us up in the comments.  Happy holidays everyone.