A Smart Way Of Gifting This Christmas

Solanke Abiola Opeoluwa
2 min readDec 16, 2020
Image credit: Merriam-Webster

It’s been a roller coaster year in many ways. But we must look on the brighter side, staying thankful for the life we do have still.

‘Tis the season to be jolly: Christmas, known for merriment, sober reflections, and giving.

Most folks are probably cracking their heads on what to gift loved ones this season — thinking of something fresh and far from the usual.

Have you heard of the concept of gift cards, also called gift vouchers?

How Gift card works in a nutshell

Gift cards have different monetary values attached to them. Vendors that offer a product or service can take advantage of gift cards. For example, you can decide to gift your boo a generic gift card worth 10K to shop or a spa pampering gift voucher worth 15k to your mom and dad on an online store like egoleshopping.

There are two ways you can present the gift cards — generic or vendor-specific.

Generic gift cards give the recipient freedom to choose which vendor to patronize.

Vendor-specific gift cards do not offer that freedom to the recipient — the giver of the gift gets to choose which vendor the recipient would use.

Whichever you choose, it’s the thought that counts.

Image source: Connectnigeria.com

One company championing the gift card business in Nigeria is SureGifts. I once used their service to gift an ex-colleague a wedding present — using the generic gift card option.

As a bonus, in the spirit of gifting, if you were to choose between the gift of an experience or getting a material gift, I would advise you to go for the outing as those leave lasting memories.

A scenario where the material gift would be better off is if it presents itself as an asset compared to the experience gift.

As a reminder, we must stay thankful as the year winds up. This Christmas, when you ‘come bearing gifts’, consider the idea of a gift card, especially if you are new to the concept. Break from the norm!

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Solanke Abiola Opeoluwa

Music buff who likes to write about tech startups, business, life and more.