GIFT A GIFT-CARD

EASY & CONVENIENT

Don't wrack your brains, don't put a list of things your friend/spouse would like to have. Don't go picking up things and checking the price to see whether the gift falls under your budget.If no-headache gifting is what you want, then go the gift-card way! Easy, convenient and you will never hear that you gifted the wrong thing.

WHY IS IT GOOD

First, it's easy to find. It's easy to buy, especially if it is online. Secondly, you can pick a card for any amount you want and keep it under your budget which may not happen when you go shopping for something vaguely designed in your head.You may go prepared to buy a gift for Rs.500, but end up liking something else better and walk out paying another 500 more. On the way back you may feel guilty about spending so much extra yet you may have to convince yourself that your friend deserves it! Well, to avoid such confusions in your mind, a gift-card is a great gift.

Another good part about a gift-card is that the recipient not only can buy what he or she likes, but also add in some extra cash and buy something more expensive. So even though you haven't gone beyond your budget, you have helped your friend buy something that he/she wanted.You have not only given the cash in the form of a gift-card, but you have packed a little bit of 'freedom' to buy what he/she wants!

THE RIGHT GIFT-CARD

Is there a list of gift-cards too?! You bet! But this should not be that confusing. There are mainly two types - those that need to be redeemed at the proper store in person and those which can be redeemed online.I am not going delve into the first kind as of now. On the other hand, most of these stores now have an online store to rectify this problem. Anyway,among the online gift cards are Landmark gift cards,Amazon gift cards,Walmart gift card, Marriot gift card,ebay gift card,etc.Now, seriously I don't to expand that list and confuse you further!

WHAT IF THE GIFT-CARD IS NOT REDEEMED?

Well, this is the only problem in gifting a gift-card!The problem is that the gift-card can be redeemed at your convenience and so this puts the recipients at ease and the card is pushed into the wallet for future use. Now,  that's okay if these cards come with no expiry date.But, unfortunately most of these cards come with an expiry date and if the gift is not redeemed before that, then no one benefits but the retailer who would have made profit without selling anything and without even entertaining a customer! So,if  you figure out how you or your recipient can deal with this, then walk the gift-card path.

But fortunately, some gift-cards come with no expiry date. Amazon is one of them.I will update this portion when I find more.

GIFT EXCHANGE STORES

Now, about these stores I have no personal experience.So, I am not backing their claims in any way. But, while researching on the net I came across these stores which proclaim to buy gift-cards from the recipients and give them cash! And also they claim they also sell gift-cards at discounted value! Now, that means you may pay Rs.300 for a Rs.400 gift-card. That may sound a little bit like cheating, but then it doesn't mean we are cheating when we buy gifts on a sale. So, if you want to see what it is all about, then check out these sites mentioned below.

plasticjungledotcom

cardpooldotcom

giftcardrescuedotcom

monstergiftcarddotcom

cardcashdotcom

PERSONALIZE YOUR GIFTS - USE YOUR OWN RESOURSES

GET CREATIVE

People enjoy receiving hand-made gifts compared to those that are readily available.Personalized gifts also show the person how much you care.Time is priceless...when you put in that time to make the gift, it becomes priceless.Think what you are good at - maybe drawing, sketching, painting. If you are not that artistic with your hands, then why not try your mind? Maybe a poem? You don't try to be William Wordsworth or Robert Frost...just try out a few lines and see. Most often, you will notice you can write simple poetry.
Ideas: Poems,Couplets,Glass-painting,Oil painting(even a 10cm by 8 cm will do!),A love-letter,Enhance an old photograph with Photoshop, frame an old photograph using bamboo, carve an apple if nothing else!

SIZE DOES NOT MATTER

Size does not matter when it comes to hand-made gifts.Anyone will cherish a handkerchief if embroidered by hand with utmost care. When something is made with love, it shows even it has minor flaws. Even the best of gifts will not make someone happy if it is gifted for namesake!So, sit down and try something new and build a small gift by yourself.

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

What if you want to impress your spouse and want to go out of your way to prove your love?Yes, you may scratch your head, spend a few nights thinking about it, spend a few days window-shopping, spend another whole day buying and at the end of it you realize that it is not just the bank account that has shrunk, but also the gift!After all that effort, the gift may not look that very exquisite!

TRY IT - YOU MAY LIKE IT

If you have enough time then try it, you may like it as well as the person who is at the receiving end! 

WHAT GIFT TO GIVE

WHAT TO GIFT

This is one question that frustrates many a party goers. Be it a birthday party, anniversary party or a house-warming function…when the invitation arrives, the mind goes puzzling over to find the perfect gift. It sometimes leads to frustration when the person hosting the party seems to have everything of if he or she is very choosy.

WILL IT BE USEFUL

This is another question I always ask myself when I need to gift someone something. I don’t want my gift to get tucked away in some cozy trunk or end up somewhere on the loft. Worse, I don’t want it to find the dust-bin or be gifted away! So, usefulness is a must.

RELEVANT GIFT

It is common sense that we definitely cannot gift an encyclopedia to a 3year old and cannot gift a squeaky toy to a 7 year old. That is the easy part, but what kind of book or toy to give a 7 year old is the tricky part. What if the ‘person to be gifted’ is about 60 years old? If it’s a lady and an Indian, I am sure she will still be glad to get a saree (sari) or a shawl. But, what if it’s a man? What could we possibly get him? Possibly a shirt? What if everyone gets him that? Oh, it is so confusing!

NO DUPLICATES

Like I mentioned earlier, what if everyone gets the person the same thing that we arrived at after putting our mind through a difficult maze? That thought is indeed frustrating. One way to ease your mind is to say ‘Big Deal’, let the person who gets it deal with it and go ahead with your plan. The other difficult option is to put your mind through the same mental agony again.

SOLUTIONS

There are many solutions to this problem, but let me assure you that the problem will not vanish with my solutions. It may just ease your mind a wee bit! I am going to try and make this process of selecting gifts a little more easier.

I am going to present the solutions in different posts from here. So, keep visiting to get wonderful ideas.

For a start, let me tell you something about puzzles.

PUZZLES

Human mind is inquisitive by nature. So, curious situation draws the human mind. Give anybody a wooden/metal/plastic puzzle and I assure you that person is going to be engrossed in it till it gets solved or till he gives up promising himself that he will give it a retry soon. Think on those terms till we meet again.

Visit the links here and have a look at a few of the metal puzzles and wooden(Bamboo) puzzles(click here) I am talking about. They look so simple, but believe me, they aren’t that simple. I am talking with experience!