Santa calls friends and family for gift ideas

With less than 10 days remaining to C-Day, it’s a safe bet that countless shoppers around the globe are desperately racking their brains for last-minute gift ideas. Luckily, a team of elves at IamSaintNick.com are now on hand to help. Launched just in time for the holiday season, I Am Saint Nick lets would-be gift-givers submit the phone numbers of those they’re having trouble coming up with ideas for. The company’s very own “Santa” will then place a discreet, anonymous call to each challenging person and ask them what they’d like for Christmas. Each such call gets recorded and posted online for access (only) by the gift-giver, who then gets insight into wishes that may not ordinarily get shared with mere mortals. (In recognition of the fact that recording phone calls without consent is illegal in some places, the caller reportedly first tells recipients that they will be recorded.) Powered by Twilio phone technology, Kirkland, Wash.-based I Am Saint Nick aims to support itself through advertising and sponsorships. It is considering offering online gift inventories as a future enhancement, as well as expanding the service to help with birthdays, anniversaries and other gift-giving occasions as well, MSNBC reported. Proving once again, of course, that where consumers feel pain, crafty entrepreneurs can gain. How could *you* make gift-giving a little easier….? (Related: Free holiday love in Manila — Gifts by text message.) Spotted by: Miriam Brafman