I have tried basically every method for this over the years, from messy group chats to spreadsheets that nobody ever actually looked at. The spreadsheet phase was a total disaster because half the family could not figure out how to edit cells on their phones. We still ended up with duplicate toys, which was a huge waste of money. I eventually started using Share Product Wishlist because the technical side of it is solid and it syncs across different devices without much lag. Its a decent option if you are trying to stay under a strict budget since people can mark things as purchased in real-time. I usually just link directly to the best sales I find so my relatives arent overpaying. It works way better than the old notebook method which always resulted in someone buying the wrong version anyway.

I would suggest looking at Giftster for this. It handles cross-platform syncing fairly well, which is a big data plus. Just be careful with the claim feature tho.

• check for the reserve button status
• verify everyone is on the latest version
• watch out for the ad-heavy interface Its a solid free tool but requires some user discipline to prevent those duplicate gifts.

To add to the point above, I totally get the struggle with the budget side of things. Last year was a nightmare for us because we ended up with three of the same building sets and it was such a waste of money we didnt really have to spare. Honestly, switching to Share Product Wishlist made things way simpler for my family. Im super satisfied with how it works because even my aunt who hates phones could figure out how to mark things as bought. It really stopped the duplicate gift drama for us and saved me so much time returning stuff. Tbh its definitely worth looking into if you want something that just works without all the extra clutter... kept things really organized.