Thursday, December 23, 2010

In Defense of The Gift Card.

"And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care"...(notice how "Dad and Mom's" stockings are way bigger?? SCORE!)

So. Gift Cards. My MIL hates 'em. She says when you give a giftcard, it screams: "I don't have time for you/you didn't mean enough to me to search for a meaningful gift."

BAH, I say. Giftcards are personal. Want to know why? Because no one has the same taste. I walk into a handbag store, and I'm walking out with Coach. My Aunt Gertrude walks into a handbag store (this is hypothetical) and she walks out with the latest black vinyl organizer with free calculator and wallet with 72 compartments for credit cards. (Not that that is a BAD thing, but it's just not "me.")

We are all different. So, in my opinion, the giving of a gift card tells me: "I care about you enough to want you to have exactly what you want--so--go forth and buy it for yourself!"

There's something "giddy" about shopping with a giftcard. You know you have X amount of dollars to spend, so you can either spend it all, or save some for later, or put it towards that big item you wanted (and now with the giftcard it will be half off), etc. etc.

For those of you who aren't into giving gift cards, I am not knocking you. You probably select the perfect gift every time, for those you know and love. I am merely suggesting that not everyone is like you. Not everyone has the inborn talent of "perfect gift selection."*coughcough* like ME, *coughcough*

Ergo, gift cards rock, in my opinion. I give them, and I love to receive them. But sometimes, sometimes, I try to give personal gifts. But only when I see something and it screams: "the person you're thinking of would really dig this!" Otherwise I am pretty much deer in headlights/clueless/needing to be taken out back and shot, when it comes to gift-giving. And yes, I would be lying if I didn't say giftcards took the "stress" out of gift shopping.

Am I completely insane?

2 comments:

Devon Ellington said...

You're not insane. I like to do a mix. I love looking for the "right" gift for someone, something special and unusual that they wouldn't think of for themselves. I also love getting them a gift card to a store I know they like because I know, when I get a gift card, I let myself buy things I wouldn't normally buy. It's really "fun money."

Aimee said...

Get this: I gave CASH (oh the horror!) to two of my brothers because I didn't know what sort of gift card would most appreciated. And I know who to gift particular gift cards to and who not to (my mom). And if mom doesn't like her gift, she's stuck with it because, well, she said she hates gift cards. So there.