Those are some really good suggestions you have there. Being as indecisive as I am, I usually just end up giving people gift cards because frankly I prefer when people gift me Amazon gift cards or something of the sort as opposed to normal gifts because I rarely like what I am gifted and end up not using the thing. For this reason, when I am gifting others I get confused and just buy them a gift card. Easy way out. You have defintely given me some food for thought though.
Giving a gift card is quite often the easy way out when you need to give someone a present, especially a young person. Most people like to shop and treat themselves to things they like so giving them a gift card is a way of giving them that experience. Also, if someone receives multiple cards to the same place they can shop for something bigger than they would normally be able to afford.
That's logical, efficient; but you do wanna keep up the 'legend' that "you were thinking of someone specific when you bought the gift" ('I saw this, and I thought of you!' ) Better, more-personal. You might think of the bad gifts as 'FREE things to call "gifts" for your bosses.' Practical, but part of the joy of gift-receiving is that the giver knew YOU well enough to get you what you wanted/needed WITHOUT asking.
For my daughter's birthday, her dad gave her a bunch of clothes she didn't like and a gift card. She ended up liking the clothes that she bought with the gift card better. Sometimes it really is better just to let the kid pick out their own stuff. A gift card is better than being stuck with clothes that aren't you're style. I liked your idea about having a gift stockpile year round and buying things when they're on sale. I buy gift wrap on sale after Christmas that does not have specific Christmas colors so that I can use it for birthdays and other occasions.
Yes, it does, and occasionally you may find something that was purchased in another town or country even that you might not have otherwise had access to buying. It's nice to find little treasures in second hand shops, but my favorite is getting brand new things marked way down in the clearance section.
That's a really good idea. If you buy all of the items when there is a good deal going on you will save quite a bit of money. You will also save time because you won't have to go out shopping when there is a holiday or a birthday coming up.
So true! Time is a huge commodity for many of us. Saving time is sometimes more important than saving money. It's also helpful when you see something that you know would be an ideal gift for someone you know you will have to shop for at holiday time.
