Drones, those remote-controlled flying machines, are expected to top many wish lists this holiday season.

Now those who open those gifts will most likely need to tell the federal government.

On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration, scurrying to prepare for hundreds of thousands of more drones flying into the air, released a list of recommendations for how to better monitor recreational use of the machines. Under the proposal, most drone owners would have to register the machines with the federal government, which would place the information in a national database, the first such requirements.

The recommendations, from a task force created by the agency, would be the biggest step yet by the government to deal with the proliferation of recreational drones, which are usually used for harmless purposes but have also been tools for mischief and serious wrongdoing, and pose a risk to airborne jets.

The F.A.A. is widely expected to approve the bulk of the recommendations in the next month, just in time for Christmas.