I usually ask for gardening vouchers so I can treat myself throughout the year. Don't like getting surprise presents though, I usually choose something and then ask/tell my husband what to get me! We always ask our children what they would like and am quite happy to give them money. I'm told what to get the grandchildren and just pay up, quite happy with that as we have no idea what they would like now - saves no end of time and energy.
Either. Although we give cash (or something very general like Amazon vouchers) to our teen and almost-teen nieces and nephews. If I ask the younger ones what they want, I usually don't understand the answer (I'm so out-of-touch with what they're into, these days) and the older ones are saving up for things like cars or flat deposits.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Giving and receiving cash is the easiest option. Probably because of that, it is thought to demonstrate the least effort and is 'not the done thing'
However, whilst I agree that vouchers do show a tad more imagination, as others have said, they do have disadvantages. Going bust and a deadline by which you need to use the vouchers being the main ones. Also, in the past, being a sporty type , I was given vouchers to a specific sports shop. Unfortunately, it was a sports shop that I wouldn't ordinarily buy anything from so I was forced to purchase something I didn't really want/need
Having said all that, I rarely get either so anything is a bonus
The trouble with vouchers is that I feel obligated to spend it on something 'worthy' and accountable if I'm asked what I bought. A few bags of compost and some slug pellets wouldn't cut it. The expectation is a plant or summat .
Really? - I thought it just showed that the person buying the voucher happened to be in that shop when they ran out of ideas! Maybe my view is tainted by the many WH Smith vouchers I got as a kid.
Maybe receiving vouchers is an indication that we’re very awkward to buy for ... people have no idea of our own taste or style ... perhaps we need to be ‘more distinctive’ ? 😉
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I can understand people feeling that vouchers seem more personal, in that the giver must have put some thought into it, but in the current climate our family have agreed to give cash rather than the normal vouchers because if the business goes bust the voucher becomes useless.
Under normal circumstances, most of the adults prefer a voucher to a present as we are of an age where we know what we want, and better value can often be had in the post Christmas sales. That was brought home to us a few years ago when an item purchased for our nephew was the wrong size and he had to return it. He called in to show us the 3 items he had bought in the sale, which included the original item in the correct size.
Maybe - I thought that vouchers were a product of distance. As kids, we always used to get vouchers or postal orders from distant relatives who didn't want to send cash through the post (not sure I follow that logic, but...) although a few used to pop a ten bob note in a card. The relatives were at a distance - so didn't really know us that well to have a handle on what we liked or didn't - so bought 'safe' vouchers or just gave postal orders.
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However, whilst I agree that vouchers do show a tad more imagination, as others have said, they do have disadvantages. Going bust and a deadline by which you need to use the vouchers being the main ones. Also, in the past, being a sporty type
Having said all that, I rarely get either so anything is a bonus
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.