FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
December 26, 2007
Work/Life: The New Gift-Giving
Looking back at the last few days of holiday celebration and gift-giving, it hit me how much things have changed. For instance, my father sent me an e-mail with the code for an Amazon gift certificate. In years past he would mail me a Christmas card with a check inside. And when we were giving out gifts, after a huge holiday dinner on Christmas Eve, my sister-in-law Cindy told my wife and I our gift hadn't arrived yet from Buy.com.
Is the convenience of the Internet making gift-giving less personal? Or is it just stripping away the hollow pretense it had before? I think giving someone a gift card is the easy way out. And a thoughtful and unexpected gift is one of the best things in the world. Yet, this opinion doesn't make me a better giver: at the office party I gave away a gift card for iTunes -- a non-object you can trade for other non-objects.
In what way has modern technology and convenience changed your holiday experience? And is it for the better?
Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at December 26, 2007 12:33 PM | Category: work-life balance |
3 Comments
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I think you're right. 80% of the gifts I received this year were in the form of gift cards. And even though there is nothing "easy" about spending any amount of money during the holidays, I do agree with the thoughtfulness that gets reduced. Next year I plan on trying to give more sentimental/home-made gifts and see how that goes over.
I asked my family for Christmas lists, and either purchased the hard item online, or gave them the gift card (that they asked for). I think it is only impersonal if you never bother to find out what the other person really wants. I LOVE gift cards - because that allows me to choose something that I may not have even thought about before Christmas. Also allows me to shop the sales. But then, I also love handmade gifts. Especially with grandchild finger prints all over them!
In this increasingly fragmented society, where we don't watch or listen to the same things anymore, where people are pulled in a million directions, my experience is that gift cards have exploded in popularity and in acceptability as a gift. People are now getting credit, if you will, for knowing which store you like to shop in, as opposed to what color sweater you want.
According to Bloomberg, gift card sales are up to $20 billion this year--and now account for more than 11% of sales.