Maybe you don't know her very well or maybe she's just hard to please but we all have at least one person on our list who leaves us stumped for gift ideas. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why they invented gift cards. More and more retailers and services are offering gift cards, from Etsy to Uber and everything in between. Check out these 10 unique gift certificates and leave your favorites in the comments below.
• Etsy For your handcrafted fan, give a gift certificate to the web's biggest handcrafted marketplace.
• Ebay For that vintage collector in your life, make their holiday with an Ebay gift card, redeemable for any item that accepts PayPal.
• Uber If your hard to please recipient is in a city that offers Uber car sharing service, treat them to a free ride with a gift card.
• Amazon No matter how picky they are, they're sure to find something to please them on Amazon.
• Uncommon Goods Let him browse the virtual aisles of this marketplace for unique gifts with a gift certificate that can range from $5 to $1000.
• iTunes Which album did Billy say he wanted? Oh never mind, just get him an iTunes gift card and let him choose himself.
• Southwest Airlines After the holidays, when the winter doldrums start to sink in, what would be better than redeeming a gift card for air travel?
• Verizon For that cousin who's still using a Blackberry from 2005, he could use this card for a new phone, accessory, or even to pay his Verizon Wireless bill.
• AllModern Fans of modern design can shop from the entire site with a gift card ranging from $5 to $500.
• Vine.com Your aunt Myrtle prides herself on being green. Give her a gift card to this web shop specializing in all things eco-friendly.
(Image: Shutterstock)
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If they are that hard to please, they don't get anything, ever, from me. They can buy it themself.
That's my 2 cents..yah, harsh but why have the headache or worry. Too old to even go there..
I don't think I'm hard to please, but I buy myself a Christmas and Birthday present each year. Only I know what I really love, want and will spend for.
I give Amazon gift cards for my kids' teachers, nephews and nieces. I am pretty sure they all have enough hats, gloves and Best teacher mugs.
For me, trickiest is to buy gifts for my bosses.
Easy. Cut down on the number of "real gifts" you buy. I only buy for my immediate family. Everyone else gets bourbon balls or other tasty homemade treats. My BF even prefers bourbon balls to an actual gift. (YES they are that good!) This means I spend abou $100-150 total on Xmas. Go me!
I am with @lyonstill. If they are too hard to please, we wouldn't be friends enough for me to get them gifts over the holidays.
If people are rude and unappreciative of your gifts, stop giving them! I would never dream of telling someone that I didn't like the gift they gave me.
The older I get, the less I am willing to put up with. =)
MINILAUREN;; Can you send me Burbon Balls? :oD
iTunes giftcards can be found on sale - I just saw a display of $25 ones for $20 at Michaels. Target discounts them sometimes, too.
Gift cards are very impersonal -- I often give them for my partner because he's impossible to buy for -- if he wants it he gets it for himself. But he has a Kindle, is talking of upgrading it, and he uses iTunes and buys Blu-Rays from Amazon -- so that's three cards I can give him that he will actually enjoy using. However if I give him a nice juicy gift card as a main present, I ALWAYS find a novelty item or food item or something else for him to unwrap -- we only exchange gifts with each other, nothing from other family or friends, and getting a delayed gratification gift like a gift card as your only present is kind of bleak.
Or you can try www.Denkani.com -- it's this great site that will hand pick a gift of 3-5 items just for her! They have free exchanges and returns so it's definitely worth a try!
Never will I hop on the gift card bandwagon. Besides the fact that it reeks of commercialism, it takes all the joy out of giving.
I agree about gift cards. I'll do it as a last minute thing, but try to avoid it for people I'm really close to. Finding gifts for loved ones is supposed to be fun! I love finding stuff that's "so them" and it makes the holidays special.
Before I saw the comments, my first thought was Lyon's also. As for gift cards; they're not the novel thing they were ten + years ago or so. But, if you know someone who does like to shop and you kind of know where they'd go, then a gift card isn't all that wrong. However, if the person isn't a shopper, a gift card might be just like throwing $$ away.
Hard to please, treat them to lunch or dinner or drinks or boubon balls sometime.
We only exchange gifts with close family and always use gift cards. We don't consider it impersonal at all. Since none of us has a lot of money to throw away, we appreciate using the cards to buy something that we really want or need. If it is used on groceries, then apparently that was a need at the time. We have 2 children, 8 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and the spouses of the ones who are married so that makes 18 to buy for. I personally love to get a gift card from Michaels to use for hobbies.
Or...give them something that will give them a sense of pride -- a donation in their name to someone who really needs it. There are tons of charities who will do that; I like Heifer.org.