Someone mentions a book they want, or that their headphones broke, and it's the perfect present. Three months later, at their birthday, it's gone from your head. The fix is to write ideas down when you hear them, in a place you'll look when the day comes. This guide covers what's worth noting, then how to keep ideas with each person's birthday in Birthday Cat, our birthday and anniversary list for iPhone and iPad.
What to write down
- The idea, the moment you hear it. "Wants to try pottery" or "Mentioned a film camera" is enough.
- The details you'd have to ask for later. A size, a colour, an author, which model they already have.
- What you've already given. Last year's present is easy to forget, and easy to buy again.
Keep each idea next to the person and their day. A note on its own is easy to lose, and a list with no dates doesn't tell you when to start looking.
Add the person first
Gift ideas in Birthday Cat belong to a birthday or an anniversary, so add the person with their date. Tap Add, the + button at the top right, type the Name, pick the Month and Day, and tap Add. The Gift ideas section is in that same sheet, so you can add ideas before you tap Add, too. The guide on how to remember birthdays goes through every field, including the year and the reminders.
Add gift ideas
On iPhone:
- Tap the person in the list.
- Scroll to Gift ideas and tap Add an idea.
- Type the idea, with any details, and tap Done on the keyboard. The field stays open for the next one.
- Tap Save.
An idea you typed but didn't add with Done is saved too when you tap Save. Cancel leaves the person as they were. Ideas stay in the order you added them. Each idea keeps up to 200 characters, and anything longer is cut off.
On iPad, tap the person in the list on the left, then Edit at the top right, and add ideas the same way.
To delete an idea, swipe it to the left in the person's sheet, then tap Save.
See them when the day comes up
The section header counts the ideas still open, like "Gift ideas · 2 open". In the main list, a small gift icon with a number on a person's row shows how many open ideas they have.
When that person is next, the black panel at the top shows their first open idea, like "Pottery class", or "Pottery class + 1 more" when there are others. With a reminder a week or two before, that's time to buy it. The reminder itself says whose day it is and when; the ideas are in the app.
Tick off what you gave
When you give an idea, tap the circle beside it. It's crossed out and marked with the year you tapped it, like "Given 2026", and it stays in the list, so next year you can see what you gave. Tap the circle again if you marked the wrong one.
On iPhone, tap Save after ticking. On iPad, tap the idea in the person's Gift ideas card; that saves it straight away.
What Birthday Cat doesn't do with gift ideas
- It doesn't suggest gifts, look up prices or link to shops. The ideas are only what you type.
- It doesn't print them. No print layout, free or Pro, includes gift ideas.
- It doesn't send them anywhere. They're kept on your device and in your own backups, and go only where you share them, like in a CSV export (Pro).
What it costs
Birthday Cat is free for as many birthdays and anniversaries as you have, with gift ideas, reminders on the day and days before, ages and countdowns, and the birthday list and year calendar to print or share. There's no account and no ads.
Birthday Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase that adds import from Contacts, groups like Work or Family, your own reminder time for each person, CSV import and export, and three more print layouts. The CSV file has a Gift ideas column, one idea per line, with a given one ending in "(given 2026)". More on the Birthday Cat page.
Quick answers
Can I keep gift ideas for someone without their birthday?
Each person in Birthday Cat needs a day and month. The year can stay on Not sure.
Can I see all my gift ideas in one list?
Not in the app. Ideas are kept with each person, and the main list shows how many open ideas each person has. With Pro, a CSV export puts everyone's ideas in one file.
Does a given idea disappear?
No. It stays, crossed out with the year, until you swipe it away and tap Save.
Are gift ideas free?
Yes, for everyone you add.
Try Birthday Cat
Try Birthday Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/birthday-cat