Occasions and the calendar

Every birthday, holiday and one-off celebration lives on the calendar, and each one has a plan for who you're buying for.

The calendar

The calendar shows one month at a time. Today has an outline, and the day you pick is filled in. Each day with an occasion gets a dot in that occasion's color, up to three dots a day.

Below the month is the list for This month, with a count like "3 occasions · 9 people". Tap a day to see just that day. Each row shows the date, the occasion and how it's going:

• "Joe and Priya · 1 of 2 gifts bought"
• "$25 limit · no idea yet"
• "6 people · $269 of $600 · 3 bought"

Tap a row to open its plan. A month with nothing in it says "Nothing this month. A quiet one."

Add an occasion

1. Tap Calendar, then +.
2. Pick a holiday from the list: Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, Lunar New Year, Kwanzaa, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter or Thanksgiving. For anything else, like an anniversary, a graduation or a Secret Santa exchange, choose Custom.
3. Fill in what applies: the title, who it's for, the date, whether it repeats yearly, a color, reminders, a spending limit, notes and a budget for this year.
4. Tap Save.

Birthdays and anniversaries

Birthdays come from people. Add a birthday to someone's profile and it appears on the calendar; change it on the profile and the calendar follows.

Anniversaries and graduations belong to a person too. Pick who it's for in the occasion editor. Plans for these occasions list just that person.

If a birthday falls on February 29, Fondfully marks it on February 28 in years without a leap day.

How holiday dates are worked out

• Fixed dates: Christmas (December 25), Kwanzaa (December 26) and Valentine's Day (February 14).
• Calculated each year: Easter (Western), Mother's Day (second Sunday in May), Father's Day (third Sunday in June) and Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November). Mother's Day, Father's Day and Thanksgiving follow the US dates.
• From a table: Hanukkah (the first night), Diwali, Eid al-Fitr and Lunar New Year follow lunar or lunisolar calendars, so Fondfully uses a table of dates that we keep up to date. Depending on where you are and on moon sightings, the day you celebrate can differ by a day. If a year isn't in the table yet, that occasion shows no date for that year until we add it.

Calculated and table dates can't be edited. If your family celebrates on a different day, like Mothering Sunday in the UK, add a Custom occasion with your own date.

One-time occasions

For something that happens once, like a wedding or a housewarming, turn off Repeats yearly and include the year in the date. Once the day has passed, it stops coming up. Its plan and gifts stay in your vault.

Spending limits for exchanges

For a Secret Santa or another gift exchange, set a Spending limit in the occasion editor. It shows on the calendar ("$25 limit · no idea yet") and on the plan. It's separate from your budget. Fondfully doesn't draw names; it just keeps track of your part.

Occasion plans

Tap an occasion to open its plan, like "Christmas 2026" with "Friday, December 25 · in 94 days" underneath.

• The budget card shows what you've spent of the budget, what's left, and chips for how many gifts are wrapped, bought, still deciding or still needing an idea. Tap it to change the budget.
• The people list shows each person with their gift, or "No idea yet", or a range like "2 ideas, $19 to $45". Five status dots show how far along each gift is, with a line like "Wrapped · hall closet, top shelf" or "Bought · arriving Dec 2". When there's no idea yet, the line shows what they're into.
• Tap a person's row to open their gift. If they have several ideas and none chosen yet, it opens their profile instead. Tap Add idea to tuck one away for them.

The legend "idea · chosen · bought · arrived · wrapped" explains the dots. Gifts, statuses and hiding spots has more.

Add people to an occasion

Tap Add someone to Christmas (or whichever occasion you're in), pick one or more people and confirm. Each year has its own list, so next Christmas starts fresh.

The occasion menu

Tap … at the top of a plan:

• Edit occasion changes its details.
• Reminders chooses when you're nudged for this occasion.
• Archive stops it coming up and stops its reminders. Its gifts and history stay.
• Delete removes it after asking: "Delete Christmas? Ideas and gifts stay with each person."