It's nothing impersonal.

Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004 @ 12:57 p.m.

Why is it that people think gift cards are impersonal?

I mean... it could be impersonal, but it could also be quite a great gift to allow someone to buy whatever they want. I can understand why people would think that it's impersonal... it may seem that the person never put much thought into it, and took this gift card as a shortcut just to get the job done.

I wouldn't be offended if I got a gift card, as long as it's from someone who I know didn't mean it as a shortcut. If a person loves shopping at a particular store, I think it's a great idea to give them the freedom to choose whatever they want as their gift. I love shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch, and I'd rather have the freedom to pick out what I want rather than receive something particular that's not quite me, and then I would have to either exchange it, or dump it in a corner to never see the light of day again. That's not cool. I think it's an insult to the gift-giver. If I give someone something, I want to be sure that they'll love it, and I sure wouldn't want anyone exchanging or throwing out my gifts. Now, gift cards are essentially the gift of a shopping spree. It says "Here's an X amount of dollars. Pick out whatever you want. Go crazy." Who would say no to a shopping spree? (And I'm not talking about lame amounts like $10. Now, that would be an insult... the only thing you can buy with $10 these days is probably something like a pair of socks.)

Put it this way... If you were to open up your Christmas present and receive $200 in cold hard cash to do whatever you wanted with it, would you feel offended?

Hey, I'll take it.

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It's nothing impersonal.