Gift Cards - I Like ‘Em!
As Christmas has come and gone, there are a lot of opinions out there about gift cards and if they are really gifts. Some like them, some hate them, some think it is an impersonal gift cop-out, some would rather cash instead.
Well, I like them. That’s not earth shattering news by any means but I thought I’d share my perspective and why I feel the way I do. A gift card, to me, can be a very thoughtful gift, and in fact, a very special and personal kind of gift. When I am given a gift card, I really do feel like the purchaser picked it out with me specifically in mind, and this Christmas specifically illustrates why. Four words: I love to shop.
For Christmas this year, I received several generous gifts, as well as two gift cards and two gifts of cash. The cash I received was applied directly to debt as soon as I got home, and I am very grateful that I was given the cash gifts to be able to do this. It wasn’t exactly… fun though, just me being a responsible adult. Which is indeed important but at the same time, it is nice to have a little bit of fun. The gift cards can’t be applied to debt so directly, and although I greatly preferred this year $500 in cash vs $500 in gift cards to use on debt, I am also very happy with my two smaller gift cards.
I received a $50 gift card to Target and a $20 gift card to Bath and Body Works. These are two of my very favorite stores, and to me that shows the gifter was considering me and my tastes when they picked them. By giving me gift cards, the gifter is forcing me to buy something for me instead of use the money “responsibly” to pay down debt. And honestly, I thank them. Life isn’t all work and no play, after all.
That being said, the Target card will be used semi-responsibly. I am combining it with a $10 gift card I earned through My Points, and I will be purchasing some storage solutions for our house with it. If I have some left over, I may shop the clearance deals for picture frames or some outfits for the kids. We’ll see. They are not things we desperately need, but my spouse (and I!) will appreciate the upgrade from the cardboard diaper boxes currently storing the kids VCR tape and DVD collection under our TV. I might even have enough for a toy bin in the playroom or another bookcase for my son’s room. I may be using it for the greater good of improving our home, but it still is shopping I get to do that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
The Bath and Body Works card is my indulgence. I get to go to their big annual clearance sale this month now and shop all the great deals on discontinued scents this year, and I cannot wait. I am so grateful that I was given a gift card there, because otherwise I would not go at all. It isn’t a need, it is a want, but a fun want and a great present to myself. And not only shopping, I get to do some bargain hunting!
In essence, when someone gives me a gift card, they are giving me the gift of shopping. And since I do so very little shopping these days that isn’t a strict necessity, the gift of shopping is an excellent gift for me indeed. Yes, a gift card to a place I’ve never heard of and never shop at isn’t the greatest of gifts, but neither is a random gift given to me that I have no use for. When the gift card is obviously chosen with my likes and tastes in mind, it is as good a gift as any I receive. Because the ability to shop guilt-free is a very big gift for me right now.
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January 2nd, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I like how gift cards mean that we get a chance to spend money on ourselves pretty guilt-free. It’s a nice break from being responsible.
(Though sometimes I’ll use them for things on my budget, depending.)
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I love the guilt free shopping I can do with gift cards. I love them and totally agree with you on this one!
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I love gift cards too! Like you, I believe that when someone gives me a gift card that they have put thought into my gift because it’s usually to one of my favorite stores. I love to shop (hence the debt shackles) so almost any store’s gift card works for me.
I agree with Mrs. Micah and Emily. Gift cards means guilt-free shopping. What’s better than that???
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I got a $50 gift card for Kohl’s from one of my sisters this year. I never shop there, never even stepped foot in the place, but I went ahead and bought $88 worth of socks and boxers. If it weren’t for that gift card, I’d still be wearing dirty socks
Now I have more than I know what to do with.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I love getting gift cards (if it’s to a store that I like)! So many times people get me presents that are a little bit off, so it’s much easier for everyone to just give a gift card. I’ve never thought of it as the “gift of shopping”
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:20 am
Packaging those giftcards makes all the difference! For kids, I take a large candy-cane container filled with Hershey’s Kisses and tie a small stocking to it with colorful ribbon. I put the giftcard in there. For adults, I try to find small colorful containers and fill them with goodies and the giftcard. I used pretty little metal Christmas buckets this year with the card mixed in with some dollar store items that reflected a person’s interests and personality… I put that in a small Christmas cellophane baggie, also from the dollarstore, tied it off with a ribbon and put it in the little bucket.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:22 am
I think gift cards can be used as a very thoughtful gift, and I did so this year for my sister and her husband. They have 2 kids (5 and 1.5), and while they’re doing ok financially, they wouldn’t splurge and go to some of the nicer restaurants in the area (if they would even go out at all…they only go out once every couple of months).
So, for christmas, my wife and I got them a gift card to a really nice restaraunt, a gift card to the movies, and we made a gift certificate for a sleepover for the kids at our place (we’d do this anyways, but it just completed the gift). That way they can treat themselves to a really nice night out, and not have to worry about the kids etc.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I love gift cards! I think a gift card can be a wonderful gift for anyone over the age of 10 if you know your recipient at all (and we should only be giving presents to people we know, right?). iTunes, movie theatres, restaurants, Target, book stores, McDonald’s money, even a “Visa” gift card: I’ve given them all. I put the same thought into a gift card that I do into a traditional boxed present: who am I buying for, how might they use this gift, and which card would be a good fit. I think gift cards get a bad rap.
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I agree that gift cards can be very thoughtful! My mother gave us the option of choosing a “big” present or of her splitting up the amount she would have spent into three gift cards (the Visa kind) - one for each of us, and one for home improvements we so desperately need to make. Now I can get some new clothing I need without worrying about the cost as much (although I’m still frugal about it!) and we can buy some paint and some new blinds.
I do really like the ideas Veteran Military Wife had to package up those gift cards in pretty little ways. Between gift baskets with lots of consumables and gift cards, I have my two favorite presents!
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I heart gift cards- I really do! I got several to Starbucks this year and it was one of my favorite gifts. I think frugal people appreciate them more because we don’t splurge on those little things and that can make the urge to buy them a lot easier when we know we have a gift card in our pocket.
I did give thoughtful gift cards too and they were quite well-received (despite Consumer Reports giving them such a bad rap this year!)