Greetings everyone!  I'm Jayna Sheffield at the business desk and on this very cold December evening I'd like to talk about the growing popularity of gift cards for Christmas.

Gift cards have been around for a very long time now but this year it seems to be growing in popularity.  Many folks are giving gift cards presents this year and why not?  For starters, they make an excellent gift for those who are just too busy to go out and shop for presents.  Next, it gives the receiver of the gift card the opportunity to choose what they want.  Then, the giver can spend more time on other Christmas/holiday related chores.

There are however some things that you should be careful of when giving and receiving gift cards.  Pay close attention to the expiry date of the gift card.  Some gift cards have an expiry date while others don't.  Some gift cards start devaluating in worth after a few months.  For example, they may be worth $50 upon purchase but six months later they may only be worth half the value.  There is some talk of making gift cards without any expiry date and this to me seems quite fair in light of the fact that the giver has spent the money to buy it so why devalue it at all.

I like the gift card idea both as a giver and as a recipient.  As a giver, I don't have to bother about finding out what someone likes or wants for Christmas.  All I need to do is think about the person and then choose the appropriate gift card.  For example, for most kids I'd buy a gift card from a toy store.  For the book reader I'd give a gift card for the purchase of books.  For the mom I'd give a gift card for something personal or something for the house, and so on.

As a receiver of a gift card, I could choose anything that I want instead of having to accept what I was given.  I could take my time to buy what I want and I could even use the gift card as an addition to my own funds to buy something else.

Gift cards can also be used during the year.  For birthdays, Valentine's day, anniversaries, as thank you gifts, plus so much more.  The gift card idea is a flexible and durable one and I for one hope that it continues to grow in popularity. 

Enjoy your weekend and if you're browsing either online or at your favorite bookstore, check out Untapped Wealth Discovered.  This book will make an excellent Christmas gift for the potential entrepreneur, the parent looking for business ideas for their youngster, the person getting ready to retire, and the person thinking of changing careers. 

Visit www.amazon.com, or order it from this website.

Contact us to learn more.