Doing some last minute Chrishanukwandiwaleid shopping today, my friend was telling me why she hates gift cards. If you’re going to give a gift, she said, give an appropriate gift. If you want to give a gift of money, give real money, not a gift card.
When you give a gift card, you are forcing the recipient to shop in a specific store. Maybe they can’t find anything they want there. Maybe it will be a hardship for them to get to that store. How many kilometers away is it? Is it accessible by transit?
When your recipient finds something in it they want to buy, if it costs less than the amount on the card, they might be left with a card that has sixteen cents left on it. Or if they buy something that costs more, they have to give additional funds to the store.
Who does a gift card benefit, anyway?
I’m wondering how many gift cards never get used. Even if each card is left with a few cents unspent, the store benefits. In essence, the gift card is more of a gift to the seller.
One of my favorite stores is a shop called Green Earth, which can be found in Conestoga Mall in the southern Ontario town of Waterloo.
It’s part of a chain, so you might find one in the mall nearest you, too :)
Find everything from masks…
… to faeries …
… little piggies …
… garden gurus …
… pithy sayings …
… and furry friends.
Full disclosure: I am not affiliated with Green Earth except as a customer. Green Earth is a great store full of fun and off the beaten path gifts. Chances are you’ll find just the thing for that hard-to-find-the-right-thing-for person on your list. Whatever you need to get for Chrishanukwandiwaleid
Tell you what, if you decide it is cooler to buy a fabulous gift rather than a boring old gift card, drop round Green Earth this week.
When you do, make sure to tell them you read about it here in Lothlaurien’s Lore :)
) on April 19th whilst walking the dogs a few blocks from home. So it looks like it is really spring now. 
