What are your thoughts regarding gift giving and receiving?

Asked by JLeslie (65451) December 27th, 2014 from iPhone

Do you prefer impractical gifts? Do you like gift cards or do you feel a gift card exchange is kind of useless? If at a time of possibly mutual gift exchange, like Christmas, do you like to know ahead of time if someone is going to give you something so you can get them something in return, or does that not matter to you?

Have you changed over the years? Your attitude? What you like to receive? How much you appreciate a gift?

I’ve changed a little. Slowly I’m getting better at receiving gifts. I’ve pretty much always preferred practical gifts (except as a very small child) but as I get older I appreciate token gifts that have sentimental value.

I’ve never made it through a Christmas feeling great. I like birthdays and house warmings and similar events when it isn’t an exchange.

I think cash is usually better than gift cards, unless the gift cards are for the supermarket, or a place you know the person goes every week. I don’t want any gift cards sitting in my purse more than two weeks.

Finally, I want to give credit to @jca for helping create the idea for this question and some of the questions within the details.