|
Best: A $30 Applebee's gift card.
Worst: A $30 Applebee's gift card.
It was the only gift I received this year (how wonderful it was to find that my new job doesn't really do anything for Christmas, which makes sense since about 70% of the office are people of non-Christian extraction).
I hate getting gift cards. Not because they are tacky or show a lack of effort. If you buy me a gift and it takes you two minutes or 2,000 it is the same to me. I hate gift cards because they generally shift the burden of shopping from the gifter to me. Giving me the gift of shopping is giving me the gift of time spent in hell. I spent two hours shopping for a watch on Saturday and by the end of that I literally wanted to come home and take a nap I was so worn out.
So, 90% of the gift cards I get eventually just get thrown away because I'd rather not go to Wal-Mart or Barnes & Noble or Home Depot or World of Disney or wherever and I'm not going to keep them in my wallet for when life forces me into one of those establishments.
But as far as gift cards go, restaurant gift cards are probably best since I do eat out all of the time and doing so isn't shopping.
That said, Lani and I regularly make fun of the people lined up at our local Applebee's. Who the hell willingly eats at Applebee's if there is another restaurant within 40 miles (let alone 50 feet as in the case of this Applebee's)?
But regardless of the fact that we'll probably never use it I am glad to receive it since the last few years my grandparents have been going through a rough financial patch and weren't able to include anything with their Christmas cards. Not getting anything was fine (most years I never cashed the check they'd send anyway) but it was saddening knowing that they didn't because they couldn't.
|