Honestly I went through the same nightmare last year when my family hit 20+ members. I tried keeping it all in a notebook but I would always lose the pen or forget it at home while I was actually at the store. Tbh it was a mess. I eventually swapped to Trello and it changed the whole vibe for me. It basically lets you create cards for each person. You can attach photos, links, and even price tags directly to the card. It looks way cleaner than a spreadsheet because you can move the cards between columns like To Buy, Bought, and Wrapped. If you want something more database-heavy tho, Notion is the way to go. I actually set up a template there with different views. One view shows everyone by birth month, and another is just a gallery of photos for gift ideas I have snapped while out and about. It has a bit of a learning curve but once you set up a simple table with a Deadline property, you can get notifications on your phone. It doesnt feel like work because it is so visual. The Gallery view is my favorite because you can see the pictures of the items without clicking into anything. Just make sure you dont overcomplicate the setup or you will end up back in spreadsheet hell. It works way better than a basic notes app because you can actually filter stuff by budget or age. I've been using Share Product for my kids' parties lately, it's way easier than sending individual links to everyone.

^ This. Also, I've had way too many apps just disappear or lose my data over the years, so im super cautious now. That one server crash made me rebuild everything from scratch. Do you usually need to access the info when youre out without signal or are you mostly at home? You might find Share-Product useful for keeping track of details without it getting messy.

Download AnyList immediately! I absolutely love it for tracking secret gift ideas for my huge family. Its super easy to categorize everything and those reminders are a total lifesaver!