That’s right: it’s the 25th and that means time for another round of Christmas in My Heart, my year long project attempting to make the holidays more manageable, more fun, and less stressful.
Today is a quick tip to ease the financial strains of the season that can also double as gift planning. As you might have just guessed, I am here to suggest gift cards.
Before you roll your eyes and click away, hear me out on this.
So the easy part first: I am merely suggesting you buy a gift card of whatever value fits your budget every month or every pay period. By spacing them out over the year, you can conceivably buy ones of higher value, as well as having some shopping out of the way. BUT there's more!
First of all, you don't actually have to buy the gift card as a gift. There are plenty of generic gift cards that you can purchase for almost any amount and then just set to the side. When the holidays roll around, you already have the money set aside to go shopping. Now to be honest, I don't 100% love this method. There is usually an activation fee with these (sometimes up to $5.00), but this is a great answer if you know just trying to move it to your savings account is not sufficient distance between you and that money. There is no shame in that. You just need to know who you are as a person when it comes to handling money.
Next, obviously, is using the gift cards as, well, gifts in and of themselves! OK, I know the gift card is the oft-maligned answer for when you don’t know what to get someone. I beg to differ. They can be the perfect answer when you know someone is diligently saving up for something (say a new electronic) or has an expensive hobby (crafts, I'm looking at you). Don't you think these people would welcome a gift card to their favorite store to get exactly what they have been working towards or maybe can't bring themselves to splurge on? And if you are purchasing an individual gift card in the middle of March, you might be more able and likely to get one of a significant value.
Gift cards can also be used as a centerpiece for a bigger gift. And by bigger, I mean the gift of experiences. You will find that almost any organization or business offers a gift card option. Your theatre-loving friend would probably be delighted with a gift card for tickets, accompanied with the plan of making an evening of it together. Switch theatre out for the zoo, the museum, or the movies and you've certainly addressed quite a few personalities. If the recipient has children, perhaps you'd like to give them an experience that they can turn into date night by offering to babysit, or by making the gift card more generous to accommodate the family.
But perhaps you are thinking about someone who loves to support a particular charity. A generic gift card can give them freedom to purchase supplies needed by that organization. Some will even accept the gift card directly. This idea is particularly useful if they support more than one cause (and since you are doing this so far in advance of the holiday season, meaning a donation in their name is still lovely, but a bit out of the blue).
Gift cards can even be a unique way to celebrate some sort of anniversary that is falling during the holidays. Maybe you and your significant other are celebrating 10 years together. A box filled with 10 presents marking the occasion can be charming. Buy a multipack of gift cards (such as iTunes) and you can use a couple of them to help with the number of gifts.
Speaking of those multipacks, those are a great little investment to have for those unexpected moments you need a gift. You know the ones I mean. Simply have a few already wrapped and ready to hand out and you are always prepared to surprise someone (or reciprocate an unexpected gift).
In short, the gift card's reputation as the present of choice for the lazy or undecided is just not true and is a gift to you as well for both financial and gifting planning.