I have heard many times over my gift giving years that getting people gift certificates or gift cards gives the impression that you do not care about the person enough to give great thought to their gift. I call balderdash! And, I say that the practice of giving gift cards is quite the opposite.
Think about it...wouldn't you rather have the freedom to choose something you will really like or actually use than to have to pretend you like the ridiculous deviled egg dish someone got as a free gift for their Pampered Chef order and decided to give you because they didn't have anything else to give? Many a year I have sat under the Christmas tree wondering who the heck my loved ones really think I am. Judging by some of the Christmas gifts... Alas, I digress. The point is that a damned deviled egg dish is neither something I want nor that will get used unless I regift it. Hell, I haven't the faintest idea how to even go about constructing the little buggers!
I could go on for days about this...I guess what I'm trying to say is that for me, I am tired of having to house items that I will never, ever use. I take these things and say thank you and then stash them somewhere to be found on a cleaning binge a year later. They then find their way to Goodwill or the like. I just don't want to do the dance anymore. I am trying to declutter my life and my possessions.
As an example, a gift card to iTunes, Target, Starbucks, or a bookstore is perfect. I love music, I regularly shop at Target, I enjoy the occasional soy latte, and I love a good book. These things do not take up space unless I choose to purchase something that I want to take up space.
So, if you're stumped on what to get someone you love, look at what they like to do and get them a gift card accordingly. I promise, they will love it!
Happy Christmas! Rant over.
