So, you wake up Christmas morning, tip toe out to the kitchen and click on the coffee machine. Your family starts to materialize, you kick-start some bacon or cut into that slab of ham and gaze at the Christmas tree you silently dread dismantling before its post-New Year’s presence becomes too embarrassing. The gifts are perched under the bottom-most branches. You still feel that twinge of excitement from childhood, wondering what your family has picked for you, and if they know you well enough to choose wisely. Did you drop enough hints about the Cuisinart?And, the barbaric process begins.
Kids rip Santa patterns and tear off carefully tied ribbon. Boxes come open (after the traditional torture of taped sides) and smiles all around. And yours? A tiny little bag with a spit of tissue and an itty bitty name tag. Something small, certainly; jewelry? Nope, it’s a gift card. Blast. Just because I’m a grown-up doesn’t mean I don’t want an actual present. What a thoughtless, effortless waste of potential Christmas spirit. Or not.
What is this anti-gift card sentiment lately? Gift cards are convenient, require minimal wrapping, give your loved ones freedom from exchanges and returns, and come in all kinds of sparkly designs and brands. So, what can be bad about that? People argue that a gift card requires no thought, that it simply demonstrates that Christmas has become about how lazy we are as gifters. Where are the endless hours of shopping for that one special thing that so-and-so is just going to love?
Where is the time spent meticulously wrapping it with gold-inlay scroll work wreath patterns and curling ribbon with the scissors blade? Well, let me ask this? Is all that crap really necessary? Is proof of love really in the stress-filled torment just described? “But, I enjoy doing that for others,” you say. Sure, but I can count on two hands how many gifts I’ve slaved and brainstormed over that had only mild impressions on those who received them. There’s nothing like that Christmas Day “Oh…how nice,” reaction to morph someone into a Scrooge.
Many people say a gift card requires no thought. A CG is usually given by someone who doesn’t know you well enough to shop for something that matters. Maybe once upon a time. Guys would get Home Depot cards and chicks would get Victoria’s Secret. Done. But now, there are a gajillion brands, restaurants and stores out there to choose from. Choosing a gift card has truly become a bit of critical thinking. You must consider your loved one’s tastes in an even more refined way than ever before. For women, there are beauty spas, jewelry and clothing outlets, for men are electronic and hardware stores. There are music, movie, ebay, Amazon, book store and department store cards. Anything and everything a friend or family member may want hangs from a colorful inventory of rectangular salvation at pretty much any major store you frequent.
For further proof, ask yourself if it’s possible for someone to get you the wrong gift card. Certainly. A Starbuck’s or Applebee’s GC is a great way to tell me you don’t know squat about me. I hate Starbuck’s and I never go to Applebee’s (unless I need to use up a gift card some jackass gave me). Someone who knows you well and is thinking about your wishes deliberates about which card to invest in. And, my favorite, those people who get you cards for stores or restaurants that they go to. This is an indication that they were already there and plucked a GC for you to kill two birds. So thoughtful. So, proof positive that the choice of gift card does take thought and consideration, because it is possible to miss the mark.
So what if there’s just a tiny bag or card to open? It’s better than the re-gifted fruit cakes or massage/footbath/heated pillow type crap they have complied at Walgreens. Now, you can take your gift card to one of your favorite places and shop for something you’re sure to love. And, the person who gave it to you is at Christmas peace. It works both ways, you see. Do your loved ones a favor and get over yourself. Asking for a gift card is a gift in itself! You have just saved your family and friends a butt load of anxiety. I am always happy with a gift card. Especially now, with so many choices, the gifter is demonstrating his or her knowledge of what you like.
It may also put a damper on the ‘discounter’, the person who gets BOGOs and freebies, throws them into a gift bag and beams like they’ve spent something. I admit to being guilty of that, but mostly for those sadists who appear at the last minute with a Swiss Colony meat and cheese feast and all you have for them is a glass of punch (the “Let’s-not-buy-each-other-anything-this-year” pact is a cruel, sick joke that sometimes ends friendships).
But, at least you know how much a person is willing to spend on you, rather than getting something dug up from around the house, or that candle holder you gave them three years ago. Yes, we remember. Gift cards force people to not only spend a tangible amount of money, but also exercise their awareness of their friends’ and family’s tastes and preferences.
So, I say bring it on. Let your pride and sensibilities relax and save the people who love you gobs of time and energy. Sure, it’s nice to open stuff and have your little pile of loot to revel in, but don’t dismiss the gift card. It truly is a revolution in gift-giving, and does take time, consideration and love. Christmas is for kids, after all.