Gift cards, yea or nay?

What did you buy this Christmas for that tween who acts and dresses like she is 25; or how about the teen that only speaks in monosyllables?  I mean seriously how do you figure out what to buy for someone whose sole communication is limited to yes and no…mostly no? How about Sister June’s tots from Florida that you aren’t even sure if they are 6 or 9?  We won’t even discuss Auntie Bertha from Phoenix who you haven’t seen since you were 6 or 9? 

I bet you opted to buy a gift card. Consumer reports states that gift cards are the worst gift you could give.  Why?  Store cards don’t have fees like bankcards but they are sometimes inconvenient since you can only use them at that particular store. A huge percentage of cards remain unused moldering away in drawers and wallets and some simply forgotten. 

Then we come to deciding which store to get that gift card from. Someone I know loved Bath and Body works and they received a gift card to Bed bath and beyond.  Ok, both have the word, bath in their names, and they are both nice stores. It is just a minor mistake but Bed bath and beyond happened to be 40 miles further than the other store so, yes, it went unused.

While Cards from malls and those issued by banks like Mastercard, Visa, and American express seem like a good idea they come with purchase fees up front.  In addition after a year of inactivity they subtract an amount every month so that a $25 card can become worthless in 10 months time!  Lose that card and you will pay a hefty fee to get another or more commonly you are simply out of luck.

The Mall cards I’ve seen literally come with a huge booklet in tiny print of stipulations, rules and limitations.  Personally I don’t even read the manuals that come with electronic equipment so I sure as heck am not going to spend my time reading that!

In conclusion if you want to give a gift to someone and you just don’t know what to get them, give them a check or cash.  There are very creative ways to turn cash into a gift that keeps on giving.  And if you get a gift card be sure to spend it--quickly!

So…your opinions are welcomed –gift cards, yea or nay?

There are lots of ideas to make money a gift in itself...search Pinterest for tons of ideas. This star tutorial is an easy one that you can make in any denomination...

Five dollar star

What is your favorite Christmas ornament #5?

In a previous post I revealed my love of bird ornaments and how my hubby sometimes calls me the bird lady well he has his weaknesses too and they are airplanes.  Maybe it's because his whole life he has been involved in the aviation industry or maybe it's just because he is a man.  Whatever the case he has his share of favorite ornaments and they are always airplanes.  He has ones that are flown by reindeer and Santa and even one I made that has him as the pilot. 

Each year as we decorate the trees we have a few minor differences of opinion over where the ornaments should go.  He always wants his airplanes prominently displayed in the front and of course I have quite different ideas on which ones should take the stage.

So after we put them on the tree and we go to bed, I quietly sneak down the stairs and  I move them around.  I have a feeling he is doing the same thing or maybe the Grinch enters our house at night and is fiddling around with our tree as well as those of the Whos.

Anyway I love the man and I love his choice of women so how could I not love (at least some of them) his airplane ornaments?

Soon Santa will be making his yearly flight.  What are you asking Santa for this year?

What is your favorite Christmas ornament and why #3?

I love birds.  I feed them nectar in the summer, I feed them seed all year round (Sometimes my husband jokingly calls me the bird lady) so it makes sense that I would have quite a few birds roosting in the branches of my trees. 

It is said that if you find a birds nest in your tree it will bring you luck and good fortune all year.  So I take care to nestle a birds nest in the inner branches of my trees. And if you have a birds nest, then it just makes sense to have some birds there as well.  So some of my favorite ornaments that make it on the tree each and every year are birds of all colors and varieties.  Some are felt, some are china, and some are just feathered.  Olivia my cat loves the birds too.  Nope thats no present under the tree!

Bird ornaments, some of my favorites.  What are your favorite ornaments?