If you’re still stumped about gifts for those last few people on your Christmas list, you might want to check their online gift registries.

Yes, the traditional letter to Santa might still be the preferred method of dropping hints about what kids—or kids at heart—want for Christmas. But some are opting for store registries and wish lists as a way to convey holiday hints to friends and family.

Some families even take the tradition of mailing off that letter to Santa into a totally virtual experience. Websites such as Santa.com and Santa’s Hideout allow kids to write their Santa letters online, create wish lists to share with family and friends, interact with elves, read blogs from Santa, play games and do activities—all under their parents’ supervision.

Children can now be found roaming the aisles of local retailers, such as Kohl's, with electronic scanners, selecting gifts for their personalized gift registries.

And these registries aren’t just for holiday gifts. Birthdays, bar mitzvahs, graduations and other kid celebrations can be occasions to create a gift wish list.

There are lots of options for those who find the convenience of wish lists appealing. Brick-and-mortar retail stores such as Kmart and Walmart offer registries that go beyond just wedding and baby gifts.

Kohl’s, for instance, has an online registry called “Special Days” to celebrate birthdays, holidays, graduations or other occasions. And online retailers such as Amazon give consumers the option of creating wish lists year round to give friends and relatives gift ideas.

If you’re looking to create wish lists for groups of friends, family or coworkers, sites such as Giftster.com, GiftGaff.com and MyGiftList.com give users the option of creating multiple wish lists with different audiences for any occasion. The site helps users keep track of who got what among all the friends and family and keeps the purchases a secret from the recipient, preserving the surprise.

And to tie all your registries together, sites such as MyRegistry.com let users create one centralized registry for any gift occasion, and give the flexibility to choose gifts from any store in the world, regardless of size.

MyRegistry.com also notes that “many organizations and nonprofits use MyRegistry.com as a valuable fundraising tool and convenient resource for requesting supplies and other items for donation.”