Thursday, December 21, 2006

Gift Certificates: Love 'em or Hate 'em

Nothings says Merry Christmas, like a gift certificate ... or does it?

I personally love getting gift certificates for gifts... but some people have mixed emotions about them. I realize some people believe it to be impersonal and somewhat of a last resort type of gift... but to me a gift certificate says: here... go and find something you will absolutely love!

The gift certificate is a safe bet... you can't go wrong. I don't know one person who gets a gift certificate and says: oh damn it, now what will I do with this?

In this day and age everyone is over-spoiled (if that's a word). I mean seriously... we live in a society that says if you want something, buy it ... so when it comes to gift giving its a very difficult task to buy something for someone that they don't already have. A gift certificate means that the person doesn't have to rush out tomorrow and get something they want at their favourite store... they can sit back and shop around for a few months, until they find something they need or love.

However, others view gift certificates in the same way they view giving cold hard cash as a wedding gift... its just not something like to do... they would rather find the 'perfect' gift instead of simply putting a crispy hundred dollar bill in a card.

My thing with gift certificates is that its a bit of lonely gift... so I like to get a little something to go with it... like a bottle wine, or a pair of earrings... just something little that people can show off with the gift card.

The other great thing about the gift certificate is that its portable... you don't need to rent a truck to take it home, you can throw it in a carry-on bag if your flying... heck these days gift certificates come like credit-cards so you can just slip it in your wallet... no real packing necessary!

Its rare to find a store that doesn't give a gift certificate these days... Tim Hortons, Harveys, Home Depot, M&Ms, Winners, Roots, Chapters, East Side's, Future Shop, Canadian Tire... you name it, they have a fancy gift card for it!

Personally, the gift certificate is an easy, yet thoughtful, gift. To me, it says: Merry Christmas... I like you!

What's your take on the subject... is a gift-certificate a good gift to give? Is it something you like to receive... or is just an impersonal gift that you hate getting?

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