Top Ten Types of Gift Certificates
There are a lot of people who, when it comes to giving gifts, find it difficult to find the right one. There are also some people who are too busy to spend a day to shop for a present.
If you are one of those people, you probably thought of giving money instead, and let them decide what they want. To children, that might be considered all right, but it isn’t as thoughtful a gift for adults. If you want to give a simple but thoughtful gift that caters to a loved one’s tastes but doesn’t require you of selecting a specific item yourself, you can give a gift certificate instead.
Gift certificates are offered by many establishments, usually at discounted prices. For example, a gift certificate of $100 may be purchased for only $80. If you want to please the person to whom you are giving a gift, gift certificates are one of the best things you can give. Here are the top ten types of gift certificates:
1. Department Store Gift Certificates
Department store GCs are is a suitable type of gift if the person to whom you are giving it loves to shop around. The good thing about this type of gift certificate is that you do not limit the person to a certain shop or store. Since department stores carry a lot of items or products, he or she can freely buy shoes, clothes, accessories, or just about anything in the store. Almost every department store sells gift certificates, so ask at your favorite department store and see if it offers them.
2. Jewelry Stores Gift Certificates
Usually, females are the best ones to give these jewelry gift certificates to, especially if she has a fancy for jewelry. You do not have to go through the troubles of finding jewelry that she might not want. Instead, give her a gift certificate from her favorite designer jewelry store and leave the choosing to her.
3. Sporting Store Gift Certificates
You know the person engages in sports, but you just forgot what sport he or she plays, or don’t know which items he or she might need. Giving sporting store gift certificates is the best way to save you the embarrassment of not knowing anything about a sport, or is a subtle way of telling a friend to get back into shape through sports. Your friend may then buy a new pair of basketball shoes, or realize that he or she is getting out of shape and consider buying sports equipment – without you being embarrassed or hurting someone’s feelings.
4. Health Care and Beauty Gift Certificates
With the so many products for health care and beauty, not to mention the dizzying number of brands out there, giving this type of gift certificate to the person will assure you that the gift you buy will not go to waste because you bought the wrong brand, or the person does not use the type of product you gave. Sometimes, people are not willing to risk a new brand or try out a new product that easily, so giving a gift certificate will probably be a safer choice and ensure that your money goes to good use.
5. Electronics/Gadgets Gift Certificates
To the “geeky” or “techie” type of person, the best gift would either be gadgets or electronic products. Still, you may not be sure which item to buy, if he or she already has it, or may buy something that might not be wanted. If you are unsure if the person you will be giving the gift to likes an iPod, an iPhone, a digital camera, or a new personal computer, it would be safer and more appreciated if you gave gift a certificates to an electronics or gadgets store.
6. Food/Restaurant Gift Certificates
Most people love to eat, making gift certificates to food shops and restaurants another great gift item. You have the choice to give gift certificates to the person’s favorite restaurant, a posh restaurant he or she is dying to try out, or a restaurant that you ate at and you want to share the experience of eating there.
7. Bookstore Gift Certificates
It is said that a bookworm’s haven is a good bookstore, so if you want to send your bookworm friend to a haven, this type of gift certificate is perfect. It saves you the time and effort of knowing which author he or she reads, the titles he or she already has, and the titles on the “want” list. Let that person be the one to shop for the books of choice. It is way better than giving a book that he or she may not like, right?
8. Clothing/Accessories Gift Certificates
Buying clothes for someone else is challenging. First, you have to know which design he or she likes, the design or cut, the color, the material, and many other problems. You do not want your gift to get stuck in the closet gathering dust and mold, right? A shopping spree armed with clothing or accessories gift certificates is definitely a good idea.
9. Entertainment Gift Certificates
This type of certificate is perfect for people who are under a lot of stress and need something to relax them. Entertainment GCs could be for a carnival, a movie, a sport, or even to a video game arcade. As long as you think your friend will enjoy the time off for rest and entertainment, it could be a perfect gift. Instead of your friend staying home getting bored and probably even more stressed, a day or two spent with entertainment will surely relieve that stress.
10. Gas Gift Certificates
This is more of a practical gift you can give to someone like your son or a friend who has a vehicle. Instead of paying cash at a gasoline station, these gas gift certificates will surely come in handy when cash is running low or money gets a little tight.
Conclusion
Gift certificates take the task of spending a lot of time and effort finding the right gift item off your shoulders. All you have to do is buy the right type of gift certificate, which is usually not too difficult. You not only make gift shopping easier on yourself, but you also possibly save some money.
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