subject: Why Gift Cards Make Bad Christmas Gifts [print this page] I have a theory that gift cards are not popular because people like to receive them; they are popular because people like to give them. How much easier can it be to buy somebody a gift than to purchase a little plastic card for them to one of many stores or restaurants in the same aisle as you buy a greeting card?
More importantly, though, is the question of how much time and effort we put in to picking out gift cards and what kind of message they send.
Let's be honest here we've all received gift cards in the past and we all know the letdown that they bring. As "useful" and "practical" as they are, most of us do not like to receive a gift card, particularly if it's a gift card for a store that we don't like to shop at. So why do we continue to give them?
Because they're easy to give.
The message that giving a gift card sends is pretty simple: "I didn't take the time to think about what you might really want because I don't really care. Instead of buying you a gift that you might enjoy, I couldn't be bothered to go to the store, so I'd rather you go do it on your own. Merry Christmas."
This is not entirely fair in some cases people ask for gift cards and have good reason to. For example, someone saving up for an HDTV may ask for gift cards from everyone from one particular store and combine all of them to help pay for the new TV. However, this is not usually the case.
The other side of the story is that many people really don't have the time to dedicate hours to shopping for the perfect gift for each person on their list. So how do you find a happy medium? Where do you draw the line?
My advice to you this Holiday season is to avoid gift cards altogether. If you're tempted to take the easy way out and buy gift cards for everyone, spend an extra 5 minutes and shop around for an experience gift for them instead.
Instead of sending them to the store to buy some "thing" that they probably do not need, experience gifts give you an opportunity to send them off to do something that they've always wanted to do like go bungee jumping, take pottery lessons, attend a wine tasting, and so on. There are hundreds of experience gifts available across the country that can be found for nearly any budget.
Experience gifts are also extremely easy to buy, but they convey a much stronger message than a traditional gift card. Instead of saying "I know you like to shop at this store, go buy yourself something" experience gifts say "I know this is something you've always dreamed of doing, go make your dreams come true."
Why Gift Cards Make Bad Christmas Gifts
By: Adam Michaels
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