Ever since I was little I have been trying to figure out a way of geeting the things I really want on my Christmas list. It took me a while, but i finally culled some hints that will help anyone in a land of “wants” figure out what they “need.”
1. Keep it small. It’s all about quality, not quantity. I would rather get the one movie I desperately wanted rather than 5 bath n body sets that I will never use. One thing that helps me is keeping an Amazon Wishlist all year. I use it to remember things I want, even if it’s something small like eco-friendly cleaning sprays. But then when my dad says, ” I want a list,” I don’t have to rack my brain too hard. I just choose one thing from each category (book, movie, music, ets.) and make sure it is something that I would really want, but would put off buying myself.
2. Make it easy-peasy. If it’s something that can’t be easily found, or you would think would be obscure, write down where you saw it. It helps immensely. If items can only be found online, hand in your list early to give them time to ship!
3. This is an awesome idea for the clotheshorse xmas-lister: this downloadable checklist is pretty righteous, making sure you get every possible body accesory sized perfect!
4. Do something memorable. I asked my dad for an album that he liked when he was younger. Then preceded to try and draw Journey’s “Escape” album cover and failed. But it got a laugh out of him, and I know that it made him think.
Peppered Thought 
Sometimes the secret lies in planning ahead. My sister in law recently sent me a melted glass bottle shaped ‘thing’/ornament. I guess my thank you was a little too luke warm, because she guessed I didn’t like it, and said ‘come on, be honest and tell me what you really want.’
I then confessed that her gift was already on my eBay pending pile.
I explained my house is crammed with ‘stuff’ and that I really like perishable gifts, like flowers or food or wine.
So she has sent me some beautiful floral Christmas decs.
Result.