Pablo Picasso, Tete de Taureau (Bull’s Head), Bicycle saddle and handlebars
This year it was decided that gift cards of a pre determined dollar amount would be exchanged between family members for Christmas.
I actually had never purchased gift cards before. At first blush this dramatically simplifies Xmas gift purchasing, reducing hours if not days of gift hunting to just minutes.
Once I knew that this year I would be giving gift cards as presents I noticed them everywhere. Every store has them. These, I found out are a boom to the respective businesses as many, once purchased never are redeemed and show up on the books almost like an impersonal donation or a year end Christmas gift from us to Amazon or Starbucks. Also, if the card is redeemed the chances are that more will be purchased, adding still more to the profits of the business. It certainly is a win win for these various retail businesses.
I noticed that Credit Card companies have gotten in on this idea too. If you buy a gift card from Master Card or Visa the recipient can go anywhere at anytime and buy something. The only limitation being of course the amount the gift giver – me – has paid on to the card – in this case fifty dollars.
Of course it is pretty easy to pop around to the various stores and pick up the gift cards but once I saw I could just get half a dozen Master Card gift cards I then realized that I didn’t even have to do this step. In fact I could just order these cards online including its accompanying white envelope and I would be done. Xmas shopping this year could be accomplished without actually ever having to go to a single store.
When I told my daughter my plan she said that this would actually be taking it too far. Merely buying and handing out mini credit cards without specifying or thinking at all about which store your gift might come from was just too impersonal.
The exchanging of the cards went without a hitch. No piles of wrapping paper to clean up, no too small sizes, no feigned “No really, I did really, really want this basalt carving of a moose for my dresser!”
The thank yous were sincere. I think everyone was pleased.
For me, however, it kind of fell flat. At first I couldn’t figure out why. Everyone was getting what he or she wanted or would in the coming months. What was the problem? And then it dawned on me.
Finding a gift is mostly a brief preoccupation, a small obsession perhaps with a question. “What do I think would fit into this person’s life? What would make them happy?” The answer to this question is of course the gift. However, part its value is derived because the answer, was in fact, your answer and not the receivers.
The gift card has drastically reduced the individuality, the creativity of the gift giver.
The card carries with it no particular quality, no particular whiff of me. All gift cards are identical in look and feel. There is no way I can change this. I simply cannot make a gift card more like me.
Unlike a paintings or a work of art’s that derives its value from the amount of individuality contained within it, a gift card somehow has lost entirely any aspect, besides perhaps generosity, of the giver.
We want a Picasso because we want to be reminded of his particular individuality, the way he lived the way he chose things to put in his art. It is refreshing and of value because it is so NOT like us.
A gift card would be like giving someone an empty frame as a placeholder for a gift and saying now go frame anything you want and when you’re done hopefully you will think of me.
So in years past, although it was exhausting perhaps and sometimes resulted in a mismatched gift, at least the gift carried some degree of the giver within it. In the future will we not be able to say “Oh yeah, yes, that odd thing sitting on my dresser is totally strange but it was a gift from my Dad years ago and I just kind of like it now as it reminds me of him”?
I am not sure the answer but perhaps next year there will be some kind of online service that allows us to make our own gift cards. You just upload your picture and it is redeemable for something that you and only you can make or do. That would be truly wonderful.
I hope you enjoyed the holidays, and were able to spend it with those important to you.
Warm regards, Nicholas
8 Comments
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Nicholas Wilton
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Years ago my daughter gave me a $15.00 gift card to a music store… in the time before gift cards were so popular and long before online shopping, so I was completely surprised. I also found the gift very touching…this was during my daughter’s college years and she had very little money. Usually my gifts from her then were taped playlists and handmade cards, made with love and cherished and enjoyed by me. But to think of my daughter spending her hard earned and much needed money to acquire a gift that I could use for any music I desired, just spoke to my heart. I never redeemed that gift card, but kept it for many years as a perfect reminder of my sweet and thoughtful daughter. So you see, a gift card is not always impersonal. I loved reading about your own gift card experience, Nick, good holiday post!
I think the holidays have become all too commercial and my new mantra is to enjoy the presence of family, not the presents. I like the idea of food, flowers and handmade items. And if one is to give a gift card to family, l like the gift of a charity card. This year, my brother and sister in law gave us the gift of adopting for the care of two baby elephants ( for the entire 2014 year). The donation went to the David Sheldrick Foundation in Kenya. In return we gave them a gift of a flock of chicks from the Hiefer organization. These are especially nice gifts to give and receive because the giving to charitable groups that support people + animals less fortunate than us feels like the humanitarian thing to do in this day and age. In my opinion, traditional store gift cards are nice if you don’t know a person well, or you want to thank a colleague,friend or distant relative.
What would you like to give for Christmas?
As the years go by, I find it harder and harder to please people with ‘stuff’, most people have too much ‘stuff’. That magic feeling of opening something on Christmas morning that someone bought or made, that is the perfect thing you’ve been missing seems somewhat illusive.
But here’s the thing, I was reminded by a wise friend recently, that it’s a GIFT! This is what I’ve bought for you. If you don’t like it, it cost you NOTHING!
Smile, thank the person for thinking of you. If they couldn’t read your mind or get you just the right color or size….SHUT UP! be grateful. pass it on to someone else. Yes, I’m suggesting you fake it! risking getting a similar item next year. poor you. IT’S A GIFT!
The fun is in the giving and if we take it back to what we would like to give…
A gift card is just saying “here, get what you want”. Most people have what they want….They want to be surprised, even if it is a disappointment!
When their first Christmas arrived, a friend of mine had no idea what to give his new bride. From out of no where he decided that she would collect camels. That way he’d always know what to give her. Well, it’s
been over 30 years now and you have no idea how many camels that poor woman owns! And yes, she’s even grown to love them.
Yes I think it has a lot to do with how the person is thinking about it who gives it—No matter what we give at least we are–I love the camel story wini. And the responses here–are really helpful.
I can relate to this post Nick. I have 4 siblings scattered around the country and in the days before gift cards and online shopping and gift cards, I would be rushing to FedEx spending crazy money on sending 2-day packages around the country not knowing if I was even close to hitting the mark on what they want, need and find meaningful. I, personally, love getting gift cards. I’m way into music so with a $15 iTunes or Amazon gift card and I’m a happy camper. I’m otherwise hard to shop for and I enjoy picking things out when they are “free” to me. Not everyone in my family shares this feeling and I’ve gotten in a bit of a rut sending everyone something from wine country gift baskets. At least then, I know this is something they can use and won’t get shoveled off to good will. My wife, daughter and I tend to make each other gifts but even then I feel I need to crossly fingers and hope that they will like it. I’d be interested to know what other creative gift-giving ideas people might have so I can get out of my gift basket-giving rut. Thanks.
The more personal the gift, the more I enjoy it to get and to give. My son made a couple beautiful photos with his Go Pro, framed them in floating glass frames.
From a good friend I received ingredients for a bean & noodle soup nicely layered in a glass jar plus the recipe. From another Jalapeno Oil, with Jalapenos from their garden. I like presents, which you can eat and think of the giver.
Of course my kids want stuff or money. In general I am looking forward to simplifying the gift-giving. Though gift-cards…I am with you on this one, Nick.
Hi Nick, I agree, gift cards are easy but I do love trying to find a perfect gift for each person on my list. Sometimes it is inexpensive but just what they love – like some difficult to find ingredient for a recipe or handmade tamales on Christmas eve, which was one I received that really delighted me this year. Love the other comments and the post. Happy New Year!