The problem with this is that for a lot of us, it’s amazingly difficult for our loved ones to come up with something wonderful to give us - a lot of us are tough to shop for. I’m sure I speak for us all when I say that we always, always appreciate the thought and effort that go into picking out something just for us. There are situations where a gift card says “I love you, and I know you love X, but I’m not confident in my knowledge of [X/your current collection status] and know you’d prefer to do your shopping and browsing yourself, so here’s the means for you to do so!”
I do it because if I gave people cash, it would end up in their wallets, they wouldn’t spend it on anything nice for themselves, and it would just get assimilated into whatever they took out of the ATM this week. (this always happens to me when I get cash in a card)
I got both my parents gift cards for their birthdays this year, and I know they’re both enjoying their gifts. For example, my mother’s was a gift certificate to her favorite day spa, as I can’t really pre-pay for a specific service (they don’t do that). It’s a gift I know she’ll love, and she won’t have to feel guilty about paying for her next facial.
My father is normally horrible to shop for- he travels a lot for work, so anything I get him that stays at home only gets used 2 days a week, and anything else has to be small enough to take with him. However, he’s in the middle of re-doing one of their bathrooms, so he specifically asked me for a Lowe’s card (as he has for the past couple of years, but I’ve always gone out and gotten him gifts instead). I finally got him the card, and he’s very pleased with it.
Count me in the camp that says gift cards can be great or not great, but no worse many other gifts.
I love getting giftcards. Even from close family. Because they know that I love shopping. 
So it’s very thoughtful on their part!
My mom tried an interested twist on Christmas several years ago. She gave my sister and I individual budgets and told us to buy our own Christmas presents, wrap them up, and she and my Dad would open them on Christmas morning.
I thought this plan was quite clever because this allowed my parents to see what they had bought us which they wouldn’t necessarily remember to find out if they gave gift cards or cash. Also, after 20 years of doing Christmas for the kids, I think giving the parents a break was good.
I liked it. My sister did not.
Oh yeah. I second Vihaga’s statement. If you give me cash, I’m going to look at it guiltily and put it towards some bill or groceries or something vital. That’s just the way I, and my SO, are programmed. A gift card means I have to buy something nice.
My 17 year old daughter just reminded me (hint,hint) how great her xmas present from me was last year. I gave her a local mall gift card, with the restriction on it that I had to be along to see what I got her. It was pretty cool. She got what she really wanted, plus we spent a (long) father-daughter day together.
My wife once received, for her birthday, a gift card from Walgreens, given to her by my sister.
Nothing says “I picked this up on the way here, on my way from the office” more than a giftcard from Walgreens.
Sis has never been a champion gift-giver though. Another favorite is when she gave my child a stadium seat cushion for her 6th birthday. Apparently she forgot (or maybe not) that her kids bought the thing the week prior when we took their girls out to a football game. :smack:
In our family everyone agrees that wrapped-up toys and other stuff is for kids, while gift cards are fine for adults.
My fam and friends love getting gift cards for Home Depot, Trader Joe’s, Starbuck’s, In N Out, and other places. My brother’s fam specifically asked for AmEx gift cards this year so they can satisfy their personal tastes in various places. Fine by me. I suck at wrapping anyway.
I received gift cards for my birthday this year for a nice local restaurant and AMC theatres. That was nice.
Now that’s GOOD writing!
Like others in the thread:
If you give me cash, I’ll spend it on bills.
If you give me a gift card for something I like (like restaurants!) I’ll be excited and delighted.
If you give me a gift card for Kroger, I’ll be less excited, but still pretty happy.
If you wrap up a box of shedded cat hair I’ll find something nice to say about it.
My husband adores gift cards. His favorite are for movie theaters.
I agree with Aangelica, that the appropriateness of a gift card depends on the situation – who it’s from, what store it’s for, etc. I like them better than cash, usually, because as Anaamika said, I don’t spend it on bills, or fritter it away on insignificant things (because it was in my pocket when I was out getting coffee or something) – I get something I really need or want.
One other nice thing about gift cards is that they are compact – I travel at Christmas, and it’s really great to have less stuff to shove into a suitcase or ship home.
Again returning to some of the specific examples mentioned above…
It’s not reasonable for me to expect a gift-giver to learn the complexities of single-malt Scotch before buying me a bottle. “Some thought and effort” is fine, but I own about fifty bottles of Scotch. Finding me one I don’t have goes considerably beyond “some thought and effort.”
I don’t find myself certain about what yarn might be the best for my wife. I don’t know what projects she’s been considering, how much yarn and of what type those projects might require, and learning these things go considerably beyond “Some thought and effort.” Indeed, since much of the thrill for her is in the selection of the yarn, it’s fair to say that even if I were to come up with the perfect yarn, both quantity and quality, she’d enjoy it less than selecting it herself.
It’s funny to me that your response seems to ignore those kinds of examples. Why is that?
And finding out will almost certainly spoil the surprise.
“Gee, honey, precisely how much and of what sort of yarn do you need for your next project that you have percolating in the back of your noggin, hmm? Just wondering.”
Yarn especially is fun to shop for! Or any kind of supply for a “project”. I love my JoAnne’s gift cards and probably will ask for them from someone each year.
Besides, without a gift card, I go to JoAnne’s and buy only what I need. With the card, I had already budgeted the money for my supplies, so I’ll pay for them myself and will often think “Hmm! Glass-painting! I never tried that, I think I’ll try it now.” or whatever.
Books are hit-and-miss, too. You may know I like sci-fi and fantasy and horror but if you go buy me a book by Stephen King I’ve got them all, same with Terry Pratchett, and there are books of all three genres that will make me want to smack you with them if you buy them for me.
(Boy, that was some convoluted grammar.)
As an aside: check online and see if there is a Bath and Body Works Outlet near you. For one, I’m sure you can use your gift card there, but also- the stuff there is SO cheap! The lotion is actually reasonably priced- $5! It’s really great. Granted, they don’t have every smell, but they have tons of great stuff very, very cheap. For instance, I love, love, love the sugar scrub (the aromatherapy kind), but in the regular store the stuff is $20; at the outlet, I can get the scrub for $10, but sometimes even $5.
And THAT is the problem with gift cards or money. If you pick up a gift card to a yarn shop for a knitter (perhaps especially if you yourself don’t knit) a gift card for a restaurant you want to expose someone to, you are saying “Here is a thoughtful gift.”
Best Buy and B&N gift cards can be very cool, but they are also very generic. There isn’t anything particularly thoughtful or special in them. “I know you read” in a world with millions of titles is somehow not the same thing as sharing an author you love with someone you think will enjoy the book.
Not that they aren’t welcome - cash or gift cards are often welcome. And they CAN be thoughtful - but they can also be lazy. I think, like with all gifts, the trick is in understanding your recipiant. A gift certificate to the grocery store may seem like the most boring gift for many, but for someone very practical on a fixed income, it may be very welcome.
I’m not a huge fan of gifts at all. And the sort of token gift that is represented by a gift certificate (and then returned by a gift certificate in a similar denomination - perhaps even from the same store!) seems like a rather useless exchange to me. But on the other hand, I’ve received more than my share of “smile and thanks” while thinking “who in the hell do they think I am” gifts - gift cards at least keep the complete miss from happening.
(Gift cards have been known to get regifted at our house. I never remember to grab them when I want to shop - but they are sure handy to hand out when I’ve forgotten someone has a birthday party to go to - here’s a Best Buy gift card! Now, that is very unthoughtful - probably worse than stopping by Walgreens).
I must second this. They have this lovely oil perfume, smells so much better than regular perfume (no alcohol in it!) It’s $10 and it looks like it’s the tiniest bottle but when you start using it you realize - it lasts forever!
I got that in the Rose scent (smells exactly like real roses, not icky “rose” perfume) and it was $2 at the outlet.
Oh, outlet. I don’t have an outlet here I don’t think. Hmm.
wanders off to check
…I went on their website and couldn’t find how to search for only outlets. I may have to just visit the stores I guess?
I have a hobby that is not quite mainstream. Even if you are avid in my hobby, you’d be hard pressed to get me what I want without flat out asking me - and that ruins the fun.
I buy most of my supplies online. The online store has gift cards, and that is about the best possible thing you could get me.
Liz Pulliam is a circle jerk.