Do you give Gift Cards?

[amcess721]

I hate giving gift cards to stores. It's like a cop out to picking out and buying or making the perfect gift for someone. My hubby put "GC to Amazon" on his list... I asked what he was after and he said movies... I told him to put the names of the movies he wants down instead! Much more fun to buy that then a GC! Same thing with my BIL... he put "GC to a gaming store" ... I asked him to put down a few games he had in mind instead.

I DO however like giving a GC to go out and DO something though...like a GC out to dinner for a couple who could benefit from an evening out :)

What's your thoughts on GC's?

[jackie010307]

For me it depends on who you are giving the gift to. I have a BIL that always gets a gift card from us because I have no idea what else to get him. I've been married over 7 years and I've only seen him twice!! I have seen his wife (who is actually my hubby's sister, but I guess her hubby is still my bil) and their son much more though. I have a gift for her, but I'm thinking that our nephew (their son) might get a gift card too. What exactly do you get a 12 year old boy you see once a year??? DH isn't extremely friendly with that sister so anything is pretty much a guess if his mom doesn't have any ideas. Everyone else gets actual gifts. I only resort to a gift card in extreme cases!

[masonite]

I LOVE gift cards!! Honestly, it's one of my favorite gifts. Then I can wander through the stores, looking for EXACTLY what I want.

My parents always ask for GC's for Christmas. Sometimes I HATE giving them to them, because we ALWAYS do, but I know I love getting them, so I assume they do too. :) I always give my mom a GC to her favorite quilting store, and I know she enjoys being able to buy fabric, etc.

:wub:

[OneFabMama]

I LOVE gift cards!! Honestly, it's one of my favorite gifts. Then I can wander through the stores, looking for EXACTLY what I want.

My parents always ask for GC's for Christmas. Sometimes I HATE giving them to them, because we ALWAYS do, but I know I love getting them, so I assume they do too. :) I always give my mom a GC to her favorite quilting store, and I know she enjoys being able to buy fabric, etc.

:wub:
Exactly!

I dont give a lot of gift cards because we really do not buy for a whole lot of people, but we have done it for the IL's a few times -- like restraunts and movies and such.

I am asking for gift cards this year -- that is really one thing I KNOW I can use. And, I am super picky about what kind of 'things' I get, so I'd rather pick it out myself then have to return and thankfully all my family is the same way.

[sprout18]

We usually give my BIL and his wife a gift certificate to thier favorite resteraunt and thier son a gift card to ToysRus upon thier request. Their son is hard to buy for because he is an only child and they get him a lot, then my MIL also gets him a gift and his father (who I don't even know) gets him a lot of stuff too. So they never know what to tell us to get him because they don't know what his father is getting him. Otherwise I love shopping and getting the perfect gift for people.

[vinsmommy]

I love gift cards!!!!! Especially from people like my MIL - super sweet lady, but always buys things I don't like. Once we went shopping together though and I picked out the pots and pans I wanted and she bought them and wrapped them up for me!

All my sibblings and DH's sibblings are getting a Barnes and Nobles gift card to buy books for their kiddos this year. They all live very far from us and I don't kow what books they have or want so a gift card is it. Makes it super easy for me and then they get to choose exactly what they want. We only give 1 family gift or like this year 1 GC per married sibbling. Otherwise it is just too nuts.

For my DH I'd rather buy a present than get a GC. I feel like that is a bit copping out - since I do live with him and know what he has. This year though he sent me a wish list to "pass onto Santa" and that made it really helpful!

I love buying gifts, but for people far away that I still want to give a gift to the GC is great.

[crystaldawn_23]

I like to get them LOL!! But I try not to give them... If I have any clue what to get someone I get it for them rather than a card... I DO love to do a couples night out card... Like a GC to the movies and dinner and a voucher that we'll babysit. I also do them for babysitters (if we have a really good one, which this year we don't).

This year in an attempt to cut down on xmas spending for my family, rather than buying gifts for everyone (which we've always done in the past) we are all bringing a GC and doing an exchange, prolly drop them in a hat and everyone pick one... maybe seperate girls and guys. SO, I know I'll at least be giving and getting one!

[Rhianna'sMommy]

We don't give them if we can help it. And I don't really like getting them either. I like to actually think of the person and come up with something they'll like. Now if we can't think of anything we will go with the gc but hate doing it. I also would prefer someone actually take the time to think of my likes and dislikes instead of copping out and getting the gc for me. But sometimes I will admit you just don't know the person well enough to do otherwise.

[Jordan~&~Jenna's~mommy]

I like to give/get Visa gift cards. Good anywhere Visa is, includes online. That way if you're not sure what to get someone they can shop where they'd like for what they want. :) We only do specific GC's for my grandparents to KFC because they eat there so often. My feeling is... if you're not very certain the person will like the gift you want to give, go with a GC. It's a pain to be 'one of those people' standing in line at a store the few days after Christmas in the returns/exchanges line because you had no use for the gift, already got a duplicate, or it didn't fit you (clothing). :thumbsup:

Also, call me tacky :giggle: but we love to give lottery scratchers as stocking stuffers each year. It's fun... we sit around as a family and scratch off our tickets all hoping for the big payoff lol. :mrgreen:

[HappyEarthCreations]

My husband gave me a bunch of gift cards last year, and I was thrilled! I stretched them for months and finally used the last one in September. It was great!