"gift cards" news and stories

Are you ready for a "slice of joy?" Or how about a delicious Santa Bonus? No, these are not double entendres, although we're pretty tempted. They're rewards for buying gift cards from the Cheesecake Factory (a free slice of cheesecake) and a $5 or $10 bonus for the purchase of a $25 or $50 card from Hooters.

Nation's Restaurant News reports that although sales of cards are up, amounts people are dedicating to them are down, so we're all getting a little encouragment to pull out the greenbacks, courtesy of the higher end (Morton's steakhouses, $50 reward card for $300 in gift card purchases), and the not-so-high-end (Applebee's, a $10 bonus for $50 spent on gift cards; and IHOP, a $5 coupon with the purchase of a $25 gift card).

Hint: Think of it as two gifts. Slip your bonus card in someone's stocking.

I am not much of a drinker. There was a time, about four years ago, when I could hold my own at a bar, but these days, a single beer or glass of wine makes me tipsy and if I go for a second, I am instantly ready for bed. However, for someone who hardly drinks, I have a fairly extensive collection of wine, beer and hard alcohol in my apartment. The bulk of the booze is leftover from my grandparents, who always kept a well-stocked bar so that they'd be able to serve guests their choice of pre- and post-dinner cocktails. The beer is from Scott's birthday party back in February (we need to have another party, in order to use up this stash) and the wine is almost entirely from potlucks and dinner parties I've hosted over the years.

The bottles of wine (which I now keep stacked three high under a built-in cabinet in my living room) have become my go-to source for hostess and party gifts. Occasionally I feel a little embarrassed about this re-gifting habit (and then I start to wonder through how many hands that particular bottle has passed) but I've discovered a new product that will allow me to inject a little humor into the wine bottle hand off. It is the letterpress tags you see above that were created by two women who were challenged by the task of finding good cards to go with bottles of wine. I'm a particular fan of the one that says, "Regifted With Love."

[via Veer]

Source

OK, so it's December 24th, and you completely forgot to buy a gift for your Aunt Loretta or your girlfriend's sister, who you weren't really thinking of buying anything for but you just found out that she's buying something for you so now you feel like you have to get something for her but all of the stores are closing and the only thing open is the local supermarket. What can you do?

Luckily, even supermarkets can yield some Christmas gifts you wouldn't be ashamed of giving to someone. Here are a few suggestions.