How to Make a Private Wish List So Your Friends and Family Can Get You What You Want Without You Knowing

By Adam Dachis

Wish lists are the obvious way to let people know what you want for the holidays and where to get it, but they come with a few problems. If you share a list via email, gift-givers have to constantly communicate who's getting what to avoid duplicating each other, and if you have a public wish list (like on Amazon), the recipient can see when someone has bought a gift, ruining the surprise. Here's how you can put together a wish list using Google Docs that your loved ones can use to track the gifts they get you, you can add new items to your wish list at any time, but you'll never see what people are getting you.

We'll walk through two methods using Google Docs. The first is the easy way. The second is the awesome way. (We prefer the awesome way.) If you'd rather watch than read, the video above will walk you through both options.

The Easy Way

The easiest way to put together your super secret wish list is to simply create a spreadsheet in Google Docs. Just make one with the following fields:

The name of the item you want
A link to where you can purchase that item (if applicable)
The cost of the item
An empty field that your friends or family members can use to add their name if they decide to purchase the item

Once you've created this list and added everything you want, just share the spreadsheet with everyone who might want to know what to get you this holiday. Once you do, set someone else as the owner of the spreadsheet. This will allow you to remove yourself as the owner and have no access to your own document, keeping all activity a secret until you start unwrapping your presents.

The Awesome Way

The above method is very simple, but there is a much more useful and awesome method you can employ without doing much more work. Instead of creating a spreadsheet, create a form in Google Docs. You can make the form with the same fields listed above and remove yourself as an owner in the same way. Here's how:

Log into Google docs and click the create button. Choose "Form" from the drop-down menu.
By default you'll have two text fields already created for you in the form. Create two more using the "Add Item" button.
Now that you have four text fields, give them the names listed in the previous section (item name, link, price, and who bought it).
Save the form and click the link at the bottom of the page to access it.
Add all your items one at a time using the form.
Go back to the form editing page and click on the "See responses" button. You'll have two options. You want to choose the one that lets you view as a spreadsheet, not as a summary.
On the spreadsheet, click the "Share" button to share it with all your friends and family members.
Set one person as the owner of the spreadsheet, then remove yourself so you don't have access.

What's great about this method is that even though you can no longer access the spreadsheet, you can still access the form. If you find a new item you want to add to your wish list, you can use the form to add it but won't see any of the activity from your friends and family on the actual results spreadsheet.

That's all there is to it. It'll take you just a few minutes and make it much easier for your family to buy you what you want this holiday.