Wow! I was shaking in my blue jeans reading this article. This has got to be the strongest opinion I've seen in one of Liz Pulliam Weston's articles:
Ms. Weston makes it abundantly clear in this article that she feels that gift cards are extremely poor excuses for gifts, that they show a lack of substance, and that in giving them you show that you really don't care that much about the person.
Malarky!
I actually prefer getting gift cards over getting more junk. I don't need any more junk, and a lot of the people I would give gifts to don't need any more junk, either! More things to dust, more things to use once and take up space for the next 5,000 years, more things for them to pawn off on someone else. A $50 gift card to Wal-Mart is fantastic! That's enough for a month's worth of most of our groceries!
In many instances, a gift card is perfectly appropriate to give. Baby showers are a prime example. One of my wife's aunts gave us a Wal-Mart gift card for the purpose of helping with the incidentals after our daughter came. To me, that was very thoughtful, and definitely not a cop-out and not crass.
I also don't have much patience for trying to figure out what people will like or not like. I've seen too many gifts I've given stashed away, unused and/or spoiled, that I've stopped trying. I may as well have thrown the money out the window. At least gift cards rarely get returned. At worst, you can sell them on eBay for at least 70% of their value, in cash!
And what's wrong with tailoring the gift card you give to what interests the person? If they like going to Starbucks Saturday afternoon for their double, extra-shot, decaffeinated, 100%-fat-free-milk, mochafrappacappucino iced latte, then what on Earth is crass about giving them a gift card to Starbucks? For the next couple of months, every time they get their double, extra-shot, decaffeinated, 100%-fat-free-milk, mochafrappacappucino iced latte, they'll think of you! And they'll know that you know what they like!
I suppose that I say this because giving gifts is not my primary love language
So spread the love! Give someone a nice, big ol' gift card, and let them shop the post-holiday sales! Or, better yet, give them CA$H so that they can shop the post-holiday sales wherever they want!
I've never been a fan of gift cards due to the fees that many of them carry, but I'm in the minority…they are the number one gift that people want this year
Good insight.
I like receiving Gift Cards, but don't like giving them. Preffer giving real gifts, cash, or bringing the person to the store.
My insight on Gift Cards left on my website:
http://www.MoneyAndInvesting.net
It is quite possible that we do not need to exchange gifts with many of the people that we do, but we are afraid that people will see us as scrooges. The fact is that real gifts aren't as treasured because we are blessed with so many material riches.
Thanks for your inputs, everyone. All good points.
I suppose that I tend to downplay the whole holiday gift-giving thing. If I run across something really appropriate, great. If not, that's all right, because I'll run across something later. Or I'll bring home flowers for absolutely no reason in particular.
Still another option, that my mother-in-law did last Christmas, is to ask people to donate to a charity what they might have spent on gifts for them. The charity wins, the intended recipient wins (presumably because they don't need any more junk) and the giver wins because there may be a tax deduction involved.
One of my friends insists I get him a Barnes and Noble gift card for every occasion. I never know what book he wants, and there's nothing else he particularly wants or needs, so that's really the best gift for him.
As for myself, my mom used to get me all these clothes that I'd never wear so I finally convinced her to just give me money. Gift cards might be a better idea as then I'd spend them on frivolous items as she wants, rather than on rent and groceries! Just so long as she doesn't start getting me grocery gift cards…