Elfster facts for kids
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Type of site
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social shopping, social networking, wishlists |
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| Available in | English |
| Owner | Peter Imburg |
| Website | http://www.elfster.com |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | not required |
| Launched | 2004 |
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Content license
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proprietary |
Elfster is a fun online tool that helps people organize gift exchanges, especially for games like "Secret Santa". It's a special computer program that you can use for free on its website or through mobile apps on your iOS (like iPhones) or Android devices.
This website lets you create a "wishlist" of things you'd like to get. It also has a secret question-and-answer section, gives you ideas for gifts, shows you what's new, and lets you chat with others in forums. The company that made Elfster is based in Delaware, United States.
How Elfster Started
Elfster was created by a software engineer named Peter Imburg in 2004. He got the idea after his wife and sister found it hard to organize a Secret Santa game for their family. He wanted to make it easier for everyone!
In November 2011, Elfster had grown a lot and reached 2 million members! That same year, around Christmas, Elfster launched an app for Facebook so even more people could use it easily on their phones and tablets.
What Elfster Can Do
Elfster is super helpful for making wishlists and setting up gift exchanges online. Here's how it works:
- Create Wishlists: You can add items to your wishlist from any website. If you're using the Elfster mobile app, you can even scan barcodes of items in stores to add them quickly!
- Find Friends: You can find your friends on Elfster and see their wishlists too.
- Organize Gift Exchanges: When you set up a gift exchange, Elfster will randomly draw names for you. It even lets people ask their "draw partner" (the person they're buying a gift for) questions secretly. This keeps the surprise of who drew whom!
Elfster has many tools to make organizing gift exchanges simple. It can:
- Automatically set up the event.
- Pair up names fairly.
- Let you set rules for who can draw whom.
- Give you gift ideas.
- Help you make wishlists.
- Let you ask and answer questions anonymously.
Elfster really helps with all the tricky parts of a gift exchange, like figuring out who wants to play, drawing names, and telling people who they drew, all while keeping everyone's identity a secret!
In December 2009, Elfster worked with a jewelry store called Claire's to create a special Secret Santa website just for them. Later, in November 2010, Elfster added new features like showing popular gifts, giving updates on what's happening, and letting users suggest and share gift ideas with each other.
