The Gift Bank
Every time someone says "ooh I love that" or "I would actually use that," it goes in the bank. When the birthday hits, you have 5 ideas in 30 seconds. Stop paying the perfect-gift tax.
What this solves
You bought the wrong gift. Again. They smiled politely. You felt the smile. They mentioned six things they actually wanted between January and now and you remember exactly zero of them.
The fix is not better intuition. It is a place to put every "ooh" the moment it happens, and a way to retrieve it the moment you need it.
Output Claude gives you when you ask for someone
- 5 ranked gift ideas for that specific person, sourced from things you logged across the year.
- The exact moment each idea came from."She said this on March 14 in the car." Receipts, not guesses.
- Budget tiers.Under $50, $50-$150, over $150. So you pick the right level for the relationship.
- Two surprise picks.Things she did not directly mention but the bank suggests would land based on her patterns.
- One follow-up plan.What to log NEXT time you see them, to keep the bank growing.
Prompt 01: Plain version (works in claude.ai today)
When to use it: anytime someone you care about mentions something they want, like, or use. Then again 3-5 days before any birthday, holiday, or anniversary.
Before you paste: open a single note in your Notes app called "Gift Bank." That's it. From now on, when someone mentions something, paste the LOG prompt below. When a birthday is coming, paste the SURFACE prompt.
LOG PROMPT (paste when someone mentions something): Add to my gift bank for [name]. They just mentioned: [exactly what they said or did]. Date: [today]. Context: [where you were or what was happening]. Their relationship to me: [partner, kid, parent, sibling, friend, client]. Save it. Acknowledge briefly. Do not analyze. --- SURFACE PROMPT (paste 3-5 days before birthday/holiday): The bank for [name] please. Their birthday/holiday is on [date]. My budget range is [$X-$Y]. Give me 5 ranked options pulled from the bank, plus 2 surprise picks based on their patterns, plus one thing I should log NEXT time I see them. Always show me the exact original quote or context for each idea.
What you'll get: a permanent memory bank of every gift signal, sorted by person, surfaced the moment you need it. The "what do I get them" tax is permanently retired.
Gift Bank
GIFT BANKPermanent memory of every gift signal across every person you care about. Logs in 5 seconds. Surfaces in 30. The end of the perfect-gift tax.
- Never invent a "they mentioned." Only use what is logged. If the bank is thin for someone, say so.
- Always show the original context: "She said this on [date] in [setting]."
- Always offer budget tiers (under $50, $50-$150, over $150).
- 2 surprise picks must be grounded in patterns from the bank, not generic ideas.
- End with one specific question to log next time you see them, based on what you do NOT know yet.
Claude will ask 2-3 of these BEFORE generating output. That is what makes it sound like you.
- For LOG: who mentioned it, what they mentioned, when, where? (these get logged verbatim)
- For SURFACE: who is the gift for, what is the occasion, when is it, what is the budget?
- Should I include past gift history (so you do not repeat) or just look forward?
- Open Claude.ai. Projects. New Project named "Gift Bank."
- In Project Knowledge, create one doc per person ("Mom.md", "Sister.md", "Spouse.md", "Kid 1.md"). Even blank docs are fine.
- Save the skill code below as Custom Instructions.
- LOG: anytime someone mentions something, type GIFT BANK then paste the moment. Claude appends to that person's doc in Project Knowledge.
- SURFACE: 3-5 days before any occasion, type GIFT BANK then ask for that person. Claude reads the doc and ranks.
- Optional Tier 4: connect Google Drive via Claude Connectors so the docs live in Drive and survive any Project rebuild.
You are Andrea's "Gift Bank" skill. When the user types GIFT BANK, decide which mode you are in: MODE A: LOG (user is adding a moment) Detect: user is reporting that someone mentioned something. Ask only what is missing: - Who mentioned it? - What exactly did they say or do? - When (today's date if not specified)? - Where or in what context? Then append to that person's bank file in Project Knowledge in this format: [YYYY-MM-DD] [context] :: [exact quote or description] Acknowledge briefly: "Logged for [name]." Do not analyze. Do not suggest gifts now. MODE B: SURFACE (user is asking for ideas) Detect: user mentions an occasion or asks "what should I get [name]." Ask only what is missing: - Who is the gift for? - What is the occasion? - When is it? - Budget range? Read that person's bank file. Return: 5 RANKED OPTIONS 1. [idea] | [budget tier] | [original context: "She said this on [date] in [setting]"] ... 2 SURPRISE PICKS (pattern-based) - [idea, with the pattern reasoning] - [idea, with the pattern reasoning] PAST GIFTS (so you do not repeat) - [if the bank logged any] NEXT TIME YOU SEE THEM, LOG THIS: [one specific gap question, based on what is missing from the bank] HARD RULES: - Never invent quotes. Only use logged moments. - Always show original context with date and setting. - 2 surprise picks must be grounded in patterns, not generic. - End with one specific log question for next time. - Acknowledge LOG mode briefly. Do not turn LOG into a strategy session.
This is not for everyone
- You buy gift cards for everyone. This requires you actually want to know the person.
- You want a list of trending Mother's Day gifts. Wrong tool. There are 600 of those.
- You think gift-giving is shallow. The bank does not argue. It just remembers what you would forget.
Send this to someone who wraps gifts at 11pm the night before
The bank ends that.
It is not about being a "good gift giver." It is about not paying the perfect-gift tax twice a year per person. Send this to the person who needs it most.
The LIFT Method Guide
Gift Bank is one skill. LIFT is five modules of skills like this one, applied to running your business. Same operating logic: log it once, surface it forever.
Get the Guide →Book a working session
60 minutes. Screen share. We build your Gift Bank live across the 5-10 people who matter most. You leave with a year of gifts already mapped, with budget and timing.
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