For birthdays and Christmas, my family always purchased gifts without really knowing what the others wanted or needed (well...after we stopped writing lists to Santa. :) ). Every year, I found it harder and harder to know what everyone wanted. I remember one year I kept a piece of paper with me so I could instantly write down gift ideas as they came up. This was tedious, and I found myself hanging onto every word uttered by my family and friends so I could surprise them with a "perfect" and "thoughtful" gift.

When I met my husband, I was introduced to his family's way of exchanging Christmas gifts. At the end of October, each person wrote down their name plus a list of items they wanted, and placed it into a bowl. Then, everyone drew a name (different than their own, obviously), and that was the person they were to purchase Christmas gifts for. I remember thinking…."This is great!" I know exactly what to get! I immediately introduced this concept to my side of the family, which seemed to work well (though a few people still liked the "old" way of guessing what to buy better).

A few years later, I had an idea to create a website where members could create online wish lists for free! This had numerous benefits:

• It was free!
• No longer had to write lists each year.
• Could link to online stores.
• Lists were available from year to year.
• Lists were easy to maintain.
• People could see what was purchased for others.
• Lists were easy to email.

I immediately started thinking of ways to build the site, and began the process of documenting and planning the design. In 2008, I set a goal of creating a simple network that makes creating, maintaining and viewing wish lists easy, fun and free!

If you have any suggestions on how to make the site better, please feel free to contact me! Hopefully NoUglySweaters.net will save you from receiving or purchasing the dreaded, ugly sweater at your next gift-exchanging event! :)

Cheers!
NUS Administrator