Gift cards: Too impersonal or most appreciated?

According to a survey by BankRate, 84 percent of Americans have received a gift card and 72 percent have given a gift card to someone. At the end of 2014, about $124 billion have been loaded onto gift cards.

Despite the growing sales of gift cards, many are still against their use. The holidays, they say, are all about “showing family and friends that you care for them.” There is value in the effort made to look for a gift and in the thoughts put into giving it to someone. Instead of saying “here’s $25 you can spend on WalMart,” the giver can instead be saying “I remembered how you’ve been collecting trinkets like this so I decided to add another one to your collection.” This is also like saying that the giver keeps the receiver in their thoughts and cares a lot about them.

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On the other hand, gift cards are still appealing to others. Adults who want something particular are often too shy to ask someone else to purchase it for them. Gift cards, meanwhile, allow friends and family members to contribute to their budget for that item and ease the guilt of spending too much. Additionally, many people (three out of four, according to online retailer Rakuten) confess to disliking or not being able to use the gifts that they received.

Gift-giving is an activity with no guarantees. Sometimes all the effort put in by the giver isn’t appreciated by the recipient. Other times, even the simplest of gifts could mean a lot to someone. All of this highlight the importance of sharing feelings outright. For at least once every year, people have the opportunity to say “I love you, I appreciate you, I’m thankful that you’re with me.” The gift is merely the icebreaker.

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