My wife says it is, so she can get whatever for her own mom, especially since she lives two miles away. My own mother lives across the Sound from Seattle so a gift card for, say, Penneys (there’s one at “the largest mall between Puget Sound and the Pacific”) could be real useful.
Or is it “a guy thing” to prefer giving AND receiving gift cards?
I wouldn’t say “guy thing” so much as “lazy person’s thing” ( since I’m female and kind of like gift cards).
And clothing is one of those things where if you buy a gift card and mail it, the person recieving it can buy one or more items that fit, are in desirable colors (No, Grandma, I do NOT wear red), and suit the person’s needs–(jeans? Socks? Dress shirts? A tie? whatever).
So I don’t think that a gift card is a bad idea. Especially since you are a guy.
Well, I don’t know your mother, so I can’t say anything with certainty. Maybe your Mom is an eminently practical woman who’d LOVE to get something useful like a gift card to Target or Home Depot (such people DO exist).
But as a rule, that’s a VERY bad idea, because it indicates you didn’t put any real thought into the gift. Most wives and mothers want a gift that suggests you put a lot of time and thought and care into your decision. They’re liable to feel hurt if you get a gift card.
Fathers, on the other hand, won’t object to gift cards. Remember that in June.
God, I hope not, or I’ve now got years of tackiness to atone for.
A Penney’s card for mom on Mother’s Day doesn’t strike me as tacky. Hooters? Slightly more so.
While we’re on the subject, what are some good gifts? This isn’t birthday or christmas or anything, so the budget is a little tight, and I guess gift cards are out now. Thanks, guys =\
This is a woman who doesn’t hesitate to send me a check, saying, “Get yourself something nice and don’t put it toward the mortgage.” She is stylish but practical, so a Target card sounds even better.
It’s not “tacky”, but a gift card for your mom? Gift cards are for people you don’t know very well, or people who are hard to buy for, or people who’ve asked for them.
Moms are special and deserve something chosen for them.
The exception would be a gift card for a specialty store that you know she likes. I quilt, and if one of my kids got me a gift card from a fabric shop, that’d be great. It shows some extra thought.
I lived across the country from my mom (she lived in Seattle) for the last 10 years of her life. She collected teddy bears, so she got teddy bears on Mother’s Day, or something from Ballard Blossom.
Visa sells gift cards as well, which you can use anywhere they take visa. Lots of people don’t know about them, and think they’re just the neatest little thing. It’s like a WalMart card without having to go into WalMart.
This, I think, would be tacky; it is the dressed-up sister of “Here’s a twenty, I forgot to wrap it, go get yourself something nice.”
Best Buy’s had these commercials lately urging us all to buy Mom electronics for Mother’s day since it’s the one thing she’s sure to love.
In my case, it’s pretty much the one thing my mom is sure to hate. A gift card sounds lovely.
-Lil
I hope its not tacky either. I’ve bought my mom gift cards for JoAnn’s Fabrics – its not her favorite fabric store (all craft stuff now, just good for baby fabrics) but she can still spend a hour or so in there easy.
Movie passes are nice too, if she likes to go to the movies.
Y’know, since she moved away about thirty years ago and I haven’t visited her for going on two years, “don’t know very well” is a lot closer than “know intimately.” I know her size, her coloring, and her tastes but, since I don’t know her household or personal needs, I have no better idea what to get her than the Man in the Moon. Like my wife, her hobby has always been shopping, so an enabler like a Penney’s or Target card means she gets something she wants, rather than something that she returns or, worse yet, sits in the back of a closet.
I’ve asked for hints at what my mother would like for Mother’s Day - nada. I don’t know her tastes or sizes (same for wife and daughter - I’m just an oblivious guy, after all), nor do I know what she needs. So, for Mother’s Day, she’ll get a card, some lottery tickets (these she loves), a Best Buy gift certificate so she can buy whatever season of Law and Order she is up to, and some flowers.
Don’t even ask what my wife is getting from her daughter…
Oh. I thought she lived fairly close by.
What have you given her in years past? If you’ve been giving her gift cards and she’s still talking to you, then fine. 
Really, it’s ridiculously easy to buy for a woman, even one you don’t know well. Flowers, candy, fruit baskets, gourmet coffee or tea, scented candles, photo frames and albums, not to mention books and DVDs.
Another firend suggested Flowers of the Month bouquets for a few months. Can’t afford it, but I think I’ll get her a gardenia bonsai.
I still don’t think gift cards are tacky, though.
Blech. Aren’t these the ones that have a fee in the first place, plus they expire/lose value if you sit on them too long? They’re worse than giving cash.
A gift card to a restaurant or store that you know she likes, on the other hand, doesn’t strike me as tacky (and that may be what I’m going with this year), but then, I’m just a dumb guy.
If I bought her something practical she’d be annoyed that I spent the money when she could just go buy it herself. If I bought something vaguely frivolous (candles, books, pottery) she’d be annoyed that I spent money on something so frivolous. She has been known to return presents and put the money into her grandkids’ savings accounts. It’s a no win situation.
This year she’s still dealing with the grief of losing dad and is still stressed out majorly dealing with attorneys and insurance companies. My sister and I are taking her to a spa one day this month. Mom doesn’t grasp the concept of pampering herself, and would never go by herself.
If I thought a gift card to Target / Penneys / Kohl’s would be used for herself, I’d buy it. But she’d buy stuff for others. I see nothing wrong with gift cards even for a Mom, because who wants to see them in the return lane the next day?
I see absolutely nothing wrong with gift cards, and I don’t get why everyone thinks they’re tacky. Honestly, it could just be because my family and I make a habit of not discussing things like tastes with people; we don’t like fashion and because we tend toward the plain we generally get things like “Ugh, why do you like that?” Obviously, our friends and families know what hobbies we like, and what our interests are, but those fade and change over the years.
One thing, however, that never changes is that I like shopping. I don’t like mall shopping; I prefer going to 24-hour Wal-Marts at 2 in the morning and just browsing, even if I’m not buying anything. A Wal-Mart gift card or a Visa gift card would be so much more fun than a new pair of knitting needles, even if I do love knitting.
However, I do like the idea of specialty stores. I love to read, so a Borders gift card would rock. I enjoy bargain shopping, so a Dollar Store gift card would be the bee’s knees. I love swanky, asian furniture, so a World Market gift card would be rad. I guess if you think gift cards are tacky, specialty gift cards are the way to go.
~Tasha
Depending on your mother’s age, it may not just NOT be tacky but be welcomed. I know that my sisters-in-law and my husband and I are all at the age we really don’t need any more “things” no matter how well-thought-out they are. With a gift card the person can choose what they want or need without having to find space to put another "thing’ that will need dusting.
I love my sisters-in-law, they always give me Bath and Body Works or bookstore gift cards.
Good god, my mother would LOVE gift cards. So did my grandparents-we always used to give them gift cards for their favorite restaurants.
Even for people you know, they can be a pain in the ass to shop for. My dad, for instance. He’s extremely hard to shop for.
And my mother sometimes likes to select things for herself. Why get her another useless trinket, when she could go out and pick something she likes?
Of course, the best gift is perhaps to do something nice-take her out to dinner, cook her a meal and clean up, etc.