Gift Card Idea

I know some think that giving gift cards is a bit boring and the easy way out but I love giving (and getting) them. These past few years I’ve been buying gift cards for Wille’s younger cousins at the toy store. I remember when I was little realizing after Christmas what I really had wanted after seeing what my friends had gotten which was always a bummer. I would have loved a gift card back then.

Anyway, just sending or handing over the cards WOULD be a bit boring and the easy way out so I try to think of ways to make it a bit more fun. This year I used gift bags (I think they’re Martha’s from a few years ago), added the first letter of the cousin’s names on the back cardstock cut from a scrap of gift wrap, added some sockerbitar (sugarcubes) candies and stuck the gift card to the front of the cardstock with double stick tape and tied a ribbon through the holes. Easy peasy.

How do you feel about gift cards, yay or nay?

Comments

[Susan]

Yay!

[Nicola]

My sons love getting them, so yay!

[Zosia]

Yay! I enjoy giving gifts that bring joy to the people that get them. If I don't know the person enough, I often give a gift card and a little something (like flowers, or a bottle of wine, or chocolate), so that the person could buy whatever they like and will enjoy. I find it's good with teenagers as well, they like choosing their own stuff and spending the money. On the giver's side, I feel that if in doubt, a gift card is a good use of the giver's money, because to buy something that the recipient will not enjoy or use is a bit of a waste.

[nicolezh]

I love to give gift cards even to friends and family members. I often choose a fancy department store, my fave bookstore or a spa so I know that people will indulge themselves!

[Ariane]

Definitively yay !! It's a good way to get someone a present he will love ! And your wrapping idea is great. Good job ! (PS : I'm from Marseille so I giggled a bit when I saw your "Savon de Marseille" picture yesterday ...)

[Judith]

I love giving gift cards, but got scared off a few years ago when I heard a couple stories about stores going bankrupt and not honoring gift cards anymore. Then I started giving cash, which turned out to be so very boring, so now I'm back to gift cards again. Living on the edge! ;)

[Helena]

Åh så snygg (och hyfsat enkel) lösning på presentkorts-presentation. Den ska jag nog kopiera i år!! Tack för inspiration! :)

[sara]

Very cute packaging idea.
My 10 year old isn't very good at cashing in gift cards, he still have one from last Christmas ... but the other day, at a drug store, there was a rack holding giftcards from every possible store around (hardware,bookstore,amazon,clothing stores) - one stop shopping - I LOVED that.

[Fröken Prickig]

Very nice (as always)! And I think that they're "yay!" not boring at all. I really think it's a bad idea to buy something that the person don't really like, it's a waste of money and a waste of resources.

[Suzanne]

It's a fine choice, specially when you present it in such a lovely way - it doesn't say: "Oops, I forgot about you - here you go" cop-out gift.

Sometimes, though, you have those people where you can find the perfect gift, every time, others can be more difficult (picky) and are easier to satisfy this way!

[Catherine]

I never used to like giving or getting them but, as I get older and don't really need much, now I love them. I don't want a lot of stuff but a gift card allows me to get that one thing I might really want. Plus I live a long way from my family so it isn't as easy to know what everyone is into at the time and vice versa. My kids are getting old enough too that they just love the idea of going shopping for themselves. All that is a long way of saying YAY! I agree that a little thoughtful presentation of the gift card is great though.

[Julia]

Yay! Of course, in an ideal world we'll be all giving each other thoughtful, often handmade (by ourselves!) perfectly fitting, perfectly made gifts... but this is not an ideal world. Gift cards are my dream gift ever since I set foot in the US and there was a coffee store gift card waiting for me... Stepping in, choosing my beverage and handing in the card was magic, people, just magic.

I know why people don't give gift cards here, though... because where I live it's a crime nearly deserving of capital punishment to let recipients know how much money you spent on a gift. It's so secretive that plenty stores (clothing stores, mainly), won't let you know the price of the item if you're only changing sizes.

Gift cards aren't perfect gifts, I know, but I second everyone here who says it can be done with class.

[Katharina]

Absolutely YAY!
Do you know Snowman soup? Just found some ready made kit in a gift store online, similar to this:

http://pinterest.com/pin/173247916886277049/

Your wrapping reminds me of it.

[Debbie from Chicago]

A big yay!

[Malena]

Yay! Especially for teenagers' clothes, since they sometimes are difficult to buy for! Also for the paper carrier, people like that who give us great service but I never see them and don't know them!

[Laurie Leone]

I'm in the Yay camp. I like to recieve them as a gift and feel if its a gift i would like to receive it it good to give. I do try to give a little something with it. Last year we made truffles in a little tin with a small gift card attached.

[Nancy]

I'm in the yay camp and often get ones from a dept. store rather than a specific game or sports store. That way the receipient has more to choose from and can save up multiple cards to get something bigger if they wish.

[Debbie]

I'm in the yay camp as far as giving them goes, but I don't love receiving them. I always pack them in a big box with confetti so that it doesn't scream "you're getting a gift card" when I give the gift. :-P

[Lisa Flaherty]

I'm happy with gift card giving and receiving, too! Especially with cute, thoughtful presentation like you've created for those little cousins! ;)

[Lesley]

Looks like everyone is a Yay, as am I. My kids love the opportunity to spend the way they want.

If anyone drops by who is not in favour, or there is a store that doesn't do them - I came up with a gift work around. My brother-in-law is about impossible to shop for - he is a golfer though so I thought a gift card from Golf Town would be great, but they didn't offer them. So, I bought a pair of the biggest, ugilest golf shorts I could find in the store which were the value of gift I wanted to give, and got a gift receipt which I slipped in the pocket. He pulled them out on Christmas morning, and looked up at me confused as they clearly would not fit him (or would fit both him AND my sister). I explained that since he would have to go back to the store to use the gift card anyway, this seemed a bit more fun!

He laughed hysterically, and we even got a few pictures of him 'trying them on'. He went back and got a really nice pair of shorts that he loves.

[Pysselbolaget]

Jag säger också JA! Presentkort är toppen, särskilt med så snygga förpackningar. Jag "pinnar" och sparar som inspiration för framtida bemärkelsedagar!

Hälsar Karin/Pysselbolaget

[Carlos]

Ah, yes, the ideal world :)

[Carlos]

Haha, snowman soup, that so cute! Last year we gave Wille's cousins snowman poop in the shape of marshmallows, also inspired by this on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/pin/31384528622915517/ :)

[Carlos]

That's such a great idea :)

[Carlos]

I like to do that for adults too, department stores have everything from pots and pans to DVDs, books and Pj's. That's where I love getting mine from :)

[Carlos]

That's how I feel about them too. I can get something I really need and want instead of getting another version of something I already have.

[Carlos]

Haha!

[Traci S]

I love receiving them but feel guilty giving them. Still, I do give them. I too decided I would "dress" them up a bit this year. I bought tree ornaments chosen on each receiver's interests to wrap with the gift cards. Still feels a bit like cheating though! :)

[Victoria]

I would be happy with just the sugarcube candy. Yum.

[KariMc]

Well, here's the lone dissenting voice. I absolutely hate them! I think they are a huge copout. I think letting people know how much you spent is incredibly cheesy. And they are never for a large enough amount of money to get anything worthwhile, so you end up spending your own money to make up the difference. And they're often for a place you wouldn't shop at anyway.

[-Michelle]

All the adults and families on my list are getting restaurant gift cards!!!

But for kids and teens I prefer to buy them gifts to unwrap. With a gift receipt so if they reeeaaallly want to they can exchange it. But I hope thye like what I picked out.

[-Michelle]

One thing I heard about last year and I love (here in the US) is to buy gift certificates from local businesses instead of national chains. Then the local business is getting your money and the recipient gets to try someplace new (for a haircut, dinner, etc).

It was even suggested that the men in my life would appreciate a gc to a local mechanic for an oil change or other maintenance. I will tell you I WOULD LOOOOVE to get a gc from my local mechanic for my car! I just spent $975 on it last month and it still needs more work!

[Laurie]

I'm in the yay camp for both giving and receiving. I can always use something from just about anywhere and when I get one from somewhere that I would normally not frequent (like an ice cream store that I actually received one once) it feels especially indulgent.

[Katharina]

That was another idea, didn't want to be so rude ;-) not everyone would think this is funny*hehe*

[Carlos]

Haha, but it IS funny :).

[Jen]

Ditto. If I care enough about someone to give them a present, then I'm going to put thought and/or effort into it. A gift card requires neither. You might as well give cash, it's the same thing and less wasteful.

[Luna]

Yay, but it depends on the person/s and what it's for. I have a friend with 4 kids living interstate and I am unable to find pressies for all 4 kids on the one Online Shop. So I'm giving them a gift card each to buy their own present at the one Store which my friend loves the idea of.

[Karin]

Var hittade du dom transparenta påsarna? Jag tog mig en tur till Panduro och där fanns dom inte :(
Kopierade din idé. Gjorde arket som en fotbollsplan och köpte godis och fotbollskort (min son skulle på kalas) men fick ta en cellofanpåse, inte lika snyggt.
Så tack för din idé. Gör gärna presentidéer till kalas för barn i tidig skolålder... min fantasi börjar ta slut.
<3 din blogg!

/Karin

[Carlos]

Jag har fått påsarna från USA för länge sen... Tyvärr dåligt med barn i den åldern i min närhet så det blir inte så många såna inlägg tyvärr.