Have Christmas gift cards already gone out of fashion?

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– The advantage of the gift card: you are sure that the person you are sending it to will be able to treat themselves to something they will really like.

With the end-of-year holidays just a few days away, you may be one of the many people who hasn’t yet completed all their Christmas shopping. And to save yourself an exhausting thought about what to give to your great-aunt whom you meet once a year or to the youngest who, according to the established expression, “already has everything”, you might consider: be to turn to the gift card, virtual or physical. Its advantage: you are sure that the person for whom you intend it will be able to treat themselves to something that they will really like. Its fault: it is, let’s agree, very impersonal…

According to a CSA survey relayed by South Westthe French plan to spend on average 497 euros for Christmas expenses divided between gifts (323 euros) and food (132 euros). However, material value is not everything, note South Westwhich highlights the importance of “proxy by proxy”, namely “a feeling felt by the recipient, mirroring what the customizer felt after some thought and effort to create something unique“. Understand: the more the giver is invested in choosing the gift, the happier the receiver will be.

Focus on personalized gifts

The gift card therefore has little chance, if any, of provoking this pride by proxy. Instead of this gesture practical but revealing a certain laziness, many buyers are turning more and more towards personalized gifts: mugs, puzzles, t-shirts, calendars, jewelry or even chocolate bars… Because in addition to the name of the people to whom they will be given, these objects can also be flanked by a personal message making them unique. Provided you do it now to have the guarantee of being able to place it under the tree – especially since physical stores offer such services – this type of gift will undoubtedly be received with much more emotion than a simple map.