Besides websites like Plastic Jungle,
Cardpool.com, and GiftCards.com that sell used gift cards for less, there are currently very few opportunities to buy discounted gift cards on a regular basis. During the holidays, you might find the odd promotion. But typically new gift cards can only be purchased at face value.

Gift Cards on Sale at Costco

I’m a fan of the big box warehouse store. Costco never disappoints (except when they switched from Diet Coke to Pepsi at the food court). So I am thrilled to see an increasing number of discounted gift cards available at one of the places I already love to shop.

The Good

Although the selection is limited, the prices are great. I often see $100 restaurant gift cards for around $79.99 or package gift cards like 5 x $10 Jamba Juice gift cards for only $39.99. That’s a 20% savings. Costco also offers discount gift cards for local stores and attractions.

The Needs Work

Costco gift cards are paper based. Unlike the plastic cards on a rack that need to be activated, Costco gift cards already contain value and they look more like coupons. Since gift cards lack presentation anyway, the Costco cards are especially challenging. So my advice in this area, of course, is to deliver the gift card with something else from Costco. (We’re not trying to pretend you didn’t buy it there.)

• Deliver a discount spa or nail salon gift card with a book or magazine from the great selection in that area.
• Deliver movie tickets with a tub of red vines.
• Deliver a water park gift card with one of the great beach towels Costco sells during the summer or a family pack of sunscreen.
• Deliver a restaurant gift card with one of Costco’s specialty desserts.

The options are endless.

Just because….

Just because the gift card itself is a little u-g-l-y, doesn’t mean you can’t make it attractive by adding something extra. The recipient will likely figure out you got the gift at Costco for a discount, but because the gift card is part of a meaningful gift, he or she won’t care. I know I wouldn’t.

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I love the idea of giving an Ancestry.com Gift Membership this holiday season. I started doing genealogy about a year ago. And though I don’t have much time to devote to the activity, I feel compelled to nurture my family tree whenever I can.

Who would enjoy this gift?

Give an Ancestry.com Gift Membership to:

• An Individual. Great idea for someone interested in family, in need of a new hobby, or who likes to use the computer.
• A Teenager. Kids are better at computers than adults, and genealogy can be interesting and addictive. It’s better than video games! An activity like this could bring the whole family together.
• A Family. This would make a great family gift from you or from your entire family. (“From our extended family to yours”)
• Blended Family. All of our families are blended in one way or another. Start researching the family tree and see how alike we all are.
• Newlyweds. What a fun way for the new couple to merge tree branches and start a family tree of their own.
• New Parents. Researching our family tree took on new meaning when I put my children at the beginning. This would make a great baby shower gift.
• Someone in Mourning. Researching family lines might help him deal with the future by connecting to the past.

This gift would also be a wonderful sentiment on Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Grandparents Day.

Make the Gift Membership Fun

My ideas for making a genealogy gift membership more personal:

• Christmas Tree. Attach the gift membership to a mini-Christmas tree. Tie it on with a bow or make it into an ornament.
• Tree for the yard. Attach the gift membership to a tree that is ready to plant. They can grow both trees at the same time.
• Garden tools. They can use both tools for cultivating.
• Seed packet. Smaller than a tree, easier to mail. Deliver a gift membership for growing a family tree plus seeds to grow a real tree or plant.
• Family picture. Doing genealogy is about connecting families and finding out who you are. Deliver a gift membership with a picture of your family or their family. Or find a picture frame that says, “Family.” (I’ve seen several).
• Miracle Grow. Using Ancestry.com is like putting Miracle Grow in your garden. With the tools on this site, growing your family has never been faster, easier, or produced better results.
• Book on Genealogy. Deliver the membership with a book or a list of websites to help the recipient get started.
• Time. Volunteer to help with the effort. Doing genealogy together is like solving a mystery or putting together a puzzle. You’ll have fun as a team.

Through a series of events this past year, family has become increasingly important to me. And not just my own family. I’m compelled to bridge the gap with my in-laws, step relations, and distant relatives. We may not see each other daily. but we are all part of the same family tree. Ancestry.com is helping me see that–both literally and figuratively.

Michaels posted this video on their Facebook page and I wanted to share it with you. Several little gifts are tied together with a ribbon, all stuffed neatly into a shipping tube. As the recipient pulls the ribbon, the presents are revealed, leading up to a big gift at the end. Jo’s finale is a crafty Valentine t-shirt, but I suggest topping things off with a gift card instead.

My Version

I love what Jo has done, but for my taste (and time constraints), I’d probably get a smaller tube and tie just two or three items en route to the gift card. You’d get the same effect without the added expense and effort.

Fun Themes

You could adapt this idea to any occasion–a baby shower, bridal gift, teacher appreciation, or birthday. I see a theme tube as well–maybe a group gift of several gift cards tied to the ribbon. Or a movie gift card tube including snacks and movie tickets with theater wrapping paper on the tube itself. A baseball themed tube with sports page wrapping and baseball cards, sunflower seeds, cracker jacks, and an MLB gift card inside. Oh, a tennis ball canister would work great here as well. Uh-oh, I’m starting to trip over myself with gift card ideas! Seriously, who doesn’t want to open a string of goodies to get to a gift card??! So many possibilities.

Speaking of Michaels

Speaking of Michaels, don’t forget to answer the Valentine’s Day poll to be entered in the $25 Michaels Gift Card drawing. You just might win and then you can march yourself down to Michaels to make your own Valentine’s Day tube! Good stuff!

The saying, “The family that plays together, stays together” is one of my favorites and is something I try to foster in our home. But achieving family camaraderie is not always easy. Some of the most harmonious moments in my home happen when the kids are each doing something on their own—no fighting, no tattle-taling, no wrestling—just peaceful coexistence. But there’s no laughter or bonding going on either.

Go Giants!

Being that we’re a Bay Area family, the thing that united us most these past months has been following the Giants through the pennant race and the World Series. Even my daughter, who isn’t at all interested in baseball, got into the spirit. For at least eleven magical nights, we sat on the couch as a family, watched the games, talked about “the Beard,” explained baseball strategies to the little ones, and ate hot dogs, nachos, and other ballpark inspired foods for dinner. I didn’t want it to end in part because we had so much fun and because I didn’t have to work that hard to make it happen.

Now What?!

Here we are on the threshold of the holidays and I’m thinking about ways to help us unite as a family again. Since we’re not planning to travel, I need ideas for getting everyone engaged here at home. The folks over at Gift Card Mall must have read my mind because Safeway, Vons, and other affiliated grocers have a promotion going on through the end of the year called, “Treat your Family to Playtime!” Buy a participating Coca-Cola product plus Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn and get $5 off an online games gift card—like Xbox, PlayStation, Adventure Quest, Stardoll and others. (See in-store details for specifics).

Win a Gift Card

In honor of that promotion, Gift Card Mall is giving away a $50 Online Games gift card to a participant here on Gift Card Girlfriend. To enter, simply tell us how you promote family playtime at home. Although the winner will be chosen at random, I really need your ideas! So send in your tips and you just might find a $50 gift card under the tree this holiday season!

Legal Stuff: Contest open to continental US residents only. Contest ends December 31, 2010 at midnight PST. Winner will be posted on the site for one month and notified by e-mail. Be sure the address shelley@giftcardgirlfriend.com clears your e-mail filter. If winner doesn’t respond within one month, a runner-up will be chosen.

I like the Work & Life blog on Real Simple. A recent post by Julie Rottenberg on the ups and downs of giving a magazine subscription as a gift got me thinking.

As Julie points out, a subscription is fun to give initially, but can leave you wondering what to do when renewal time comes along. (Should you renew? Does the recipient want the magazine renewed? Will the renewal look lackluster as a gift or tie you into a long-term gifting arrangement?)

Instead, I suggest giving a gift card for a magazine subscription. The recipient can pick out which magazine to order and the renewal notice won’t come to you. It’s a one-time gift.

With that problem solved, I started thinking of fun ways to deliver a magazine subscription gift card–all starting with a store bought magazine. The recipient can order a different magazine, of course, but your gift ensemble acts as recommended reading plus something for the recipient to enjoy while he or she waits for the first issue to arrive.

Then I’d pick up accessories to go with the magazine like a bag of chips, sunscreen, and a reusable water bottle for poolside reading. Or do something in line with the magazine you’re giving. For example, Sports Illustrated and an energy bar for the athlete, Family Fun magazine and craft supplies for the toddler-age mom, or Real Simple with decorative push-pins for the organizer.

This is a gift that works for Him, Her, the Family, and for Kids. I love it and appreciate Julie’s post that kicked me into re-thinking this old gift idea.

I took my kids to see Toy Story 3 this morning. I don’t normally like the animated flicks, but I chuckled even more than the little ones this time. Toys I hadn’t thought about in years showed up on screen like old friends. (Including a few toys I coveted but never got to make friends with, like that three story Barbie Apartment!) But the best part of the day was using the gift card I found last week to offset the cost of admission.

Saving Money

This little Disney-Pixar flashback would have cost me $45 without the gift card. That’s a lot of money for a matinee, especially when I’m trying to stretch the family budget across a summer’s worth of activities.

While a movie gift card may no longer be the most original gift to give, it’s still a great gift for a kid, teen, family, or anybody who likes to go to the theater. The recipient might not use it right away, but is certain to appreciate it when they do.

Make the Movie Gift Card More Personal

Partner a movie gift card with some movie snacks, popcorn, or something relevant to the movie you think they’re most likely to see. For Toy Story 3, for example, get a slinky akin to the one in the movie. For the new Twilight movie, Eclipse, get a gift card to the movies with some fake blood and vampire teeth. Or, if you’re like me, a movie gift card would go perfect with a purse size salt shaker for the tub of popcorn I’d buy once I got there.