We've all been given things we know we'll never use. Giving is important to us and most people feel bad if they've chosen a gift poorly.
3 Get more for your buck
Many people hate that gift cards put a number on how much you have spent. According to UK company VoucherCodesPro, two-thirds of Brits exaggerate how much they spend on gifts.
I am sure we Kiwis are no different — especially with our love of buying gifts on special. But if you reframe your thinking you may feel or appear more generous. Tell the recipient you've chosen a gift card so that he/she can use it to purchase an even better present in the sales than you would have bought. Retailers don't always offer the best prices before Christmas.
4 Double your money
A clever friend of mine once bought me a one-day-sale voucher knowing I could, and would, double her money when using it. I waited for offers on goods and services such as house washing that I would spend money on anyway and really milked that card for all it was worth. My friend knew that I would find half-price offers for everything I bought.
5 It's easier on the planet
Gifts for gifts' sake or even worse, joke presents such as Emoji Poop Pillows and Donald Trump mugs are a waste of the world's resources and will be dumped five minutes after Christmas.
6 Supercharge family and friend time
Make the gift conditional on time out together after Christmas to do the shopping. By doing this you add quality time to the gift-giving and benefit both parties. This is good for teenagers who might not otherwise go shopping with Mum and Dad. It also works well with friends you never quite catch up with.
7 You can buy experiences
When I looked on GrabOne this week you could get a two-hour surf lesson for $40 at Matakana or a round of minigolf at Orakei for $8. It's also possible to buy a gift card or voucher for an experience direct from the operator.
8 Use up your FlyBuys points
You'll need to be quick to get them before Christmas, but FlyBuys and other points schemes such as hotpoints and True Rewards allow you to buy vouchers, which you can pop into a card and give for Christmas without having to spend cash or rack up credit.
9 There is always something to buy
Even if you make the wrong choice, the recipient can re-gift the voucher or redeem it for another voucher at a lower cost and keep the difference.
That way they benefit financially from the gift card even if indirectly. I have done this in the past, as well as cashed in my children's gift cards so they could use the cash for something else.
10 Give them a treat
Some people prefer a run-of-the-mill voucher but, if you know your gift recipient well, this is a good way of spoiling them.
Be aware of the date when the gift cards expire. It's easy to lose or forget about them, or for the company to go under or be bought before you spend them.
Consumer NZ has been running a campaign to encourage stores to drop the expiry dates. Of the 60 cards the consumer champion looked at, more than half expired after just 12 months, with the retailer keeping the money. Talk about the Grinch at Christmas.
