Jamba Juice is doing it right this holiday season. At participating locations, you can buy a $25 gift card and get a free smoothie. If you’re a Jamba Juice regular, buy the gift card for yourself and start slurping! If you’re going to give a Jamba Juice gift card, then this next offer is even better.

Gift with Purchase

As Kevin B at the San Ramon Jamba Juice explains, for $15, you get a 22 oz. Tumbler and a $5 Jamba Juice gift card. I love ths promotion because it follows my 5 Steps to Better Gift Card Giving. The gift card can be used at a variety of locations, is in a usable amount ($5 is plenty for Jamba Juice), and the recipient gets to “open something.” This would make a great gift for teachers, office staff, and others you want to give a small token to this holiday season.

Add a Personal Scoop

Make it even more personal by putting a list of your favorite smoothies or the “secret Jamba Juice menu” inside the tumbler. Have fun with it.

Be sure the recipient can buy something without spending her own money.

My sister-in-law recently gave each of my children a $10 gift card to Target. Though ten dollars isn’t extravagant, it can be used to buy a variety of things at that particular store. Matthew bought a book. Ally bought a shirt. Michael is saving up for a new Wii game so he put the card away in his wallet. (Good boy!)

The dollar amount you put on a gift card should give the recipient enough buying power to make a purchase without spending additional cash. Otherwise, your well intentions could turn into more of a burden than a gift–requiring the recipient contribute towards his own present or possibly not use the gift card at all.

That doesn’t mean you need to spend more than you can afford on a gift card. Stay within your budget, but choose a gift card accordingly. If your limit is $20, for example, then a gift card to Kohl’s or Jamba Juice, where low-price items are available, would be more fitting than a gift card to Anthropologie or Outback Steakhouse, both of which are more expensive.

Picking the right dollar amount is another way to show you put some thought into selecting a gift card.

Read all of my gift card rules:

• Gift Card Rule #1: It’s Not About You

• Gift Card Rule #2: Location, Location, Location!

• Gift Card Rule #3: Buying Power

• Gift Card Rule #4: Avoid the Gotchas

• Gift Card Rule #5: Something for Now and Later