—| B2-C1 (intermediate to advanced) |—

In North American English, this word typically means:

• NOUN (countable): a document that shows what things or products a person is interested in

In Canadian culture, it is common for family members (e.g. aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, siblings, etc.) to lose touch with one another over the years. This is largely due in part to the culture’s encouragement of self-sufficient independence, the expansive size of the country, flight tickets being expensive, and families growing too large and too quickly to keep up with.

Despite this, however, many families in Canada still want to maintain a connection with their relatives. As a way of doing so, they may give birthday and/or Christmas gifts to each other every year. Unfortunately, due to their inability to regularly keep in touch with their family members, this can be seen as a difficult task, as they no longer know each other well enough, knowing their interests and hobbies, etc.

This is where wish lists come in. These documents serve as a way of helping family members brainstorm gift ideas for each other. These lists may contain specific brands, products, stores, online links, food preferences, and/or general interests and hobbies of a person. When someone receives a wish list from someone else, it does not mean that they are obliged to buy something for that other person. It is simply just a list of suggestions in case a gift is wanting to be bought and they have no ideas as to what to get.

EXAMPLES:

1. “My friend sends his wish list out every November 1st. That way, his parents, brothers, and in-laws have plenty of time to think of and buy whatever they want to get him for Christmas. It seems to be a pretty good system they have there. I think I’ll send my wish list out that early, too.”

2. “Some companies, like Amazon, have included a wish list feature on their apps and websites in order to make shopping that much easier for people.”

Have you ever written a wish list before? Do you like the idea, or do you think you wouldn’t ever make and send one out? Let me know in the comments below.

To learn about more Canadian holidays, including vocabulary related to these holidays, check out the Holidays link in the Tags section of our blog.