Gift Cards (etc.)

Gift cards are a great gift FOR MERCHANTS. You give them an interest-free loan, they can use for anything. They only have to pay it back with something they already have in stock/available (at whatever price they've chosen to set). You give your so-called loved-ones a piece of plastic they can use in a very restrictive manner (compared to regular currency): limited place, for limited number of items, for a limited time, and only during the times they remember to have it with them and remember to use it.

Here's the chain of events which I think occurs:
"I feel compelled to get a gift for someone, since it is Christmas/birthday/etc."
"I don't know what this person wants/needs (ANY MORE THAN THEY KNOW WHAT THEY WANT/NEED to buy for themselves)."
"But I think I know where they sometimes get the kinds of things I think they sometimes like. So I'll get a gift card for that place."

I fail to see how a piece of non/less reusable plastic is any more personal, or more enabling than just giving cash. So why not just give cash? But now we can see the fundamental flaw many buy in to. If I give you cash, and you give me an equal amount of cash (because, after all, I care about you just as much as you care about me), then why exchange at all? Because merchants have paid marketers to hack into your psychology.

I don't mind giving gifts to those less able to get things for themselves right now. Our children fall into this category. If you don't have an infinite supply of money, then you have a finite one. Given a finite supply of money, you can choose when to use it for "gifts". If you tend to restrict buying things for loved-ones to "special occasions", then you are NECESSARILY buying them fewer things during other times.  That's your choice. Personally, I enjoy having the money/freedom to buy things whenever. If my daughter sees or asks about something she wants, I'll often just buy it. She doesn't want/ask frequently and she seems genuinely appreciative/grateful for what she has/gets. We do talk about the item, where it will go, how it will be used, what other things we might spend the same money on, etc. But most of the time I just get it. This feels more genuine/better than waiting until some other "special" time of the year, and feeling pressure/guilt to think of something to get then, just because everybody else is doing it, and we've done it like this for a long time (AKA: It's a "tradition").