There is, of course, the problem of those special persons living far apart; my family lives in another country, so i understand. In this case, regretfully, a money transfer is the only thing i can do (not a gift card, since they don’t have the same stores).

My 0.02, of course.

Personally, I would love cash much more than a gift card, and make a point to purchase something with that cash for myself, and remember who it is from.

The one exception is if a gift card happened to be for somewhere I frequent, like Peet’s coffee. But then again, that would require someone to actually know me and think about what they are getting me, just like a real gift.

If I want to give a gift to someone (and I don’t mind spending), it should be because *I* really want to give someone a gift… on my schedule, when I think it’s right. To be pressured by society every turn to buy a damn gift is out of control.

If you think you’re taking the high road on this one, good for you. I find the whole thing trite and a product of excellent marketing year after year.

The more people you know, the more weddings… birthdays… graduations… give me a break. It’s just another way to make ya feel like a jerk if you’re not “in” to the gift giving thing.

Get real. If ya gotta do it… 9 times out of 10 I’d prefer a gift card to select precisely what I need. Not someones inane perception of what I want or need. They don’t live with me and my mind every day, and therefore are gonna miss the mark unless they *truly* want to give me something and it’s on their schedule rather than Hallmark’s.

I am not a big fan of gift cards, especially those which are from a specific store. I like giving them to teens, but not to adults.

Some people are easy to buy for–for every one else, there’s gift cards!

As Paul @ Fiscal Geek points out, gift cards lock you into a particular store, and I’d add that we probably tend to buy gift cards for others to the stores we like to shop in. That may not work for the recipient.

Apart from that however, I think they work in most instances. We have a lot of teenagers and young adults in our extended families, and buying gifts, however thoughtful from our own perspectives, may not be terribly appreciated. Cash, on the other hand, is kind of cold–like a gift without thought. In those situations, gift cards make great sense.