Giving gift cards can’t be so bad. Replace just one ceramic snowman with a Starbucks gift card and call me a happily caffeinated columnist.
Did you give or get gift cards for Christmas? I used to think giving gift cards was too impersonal and a bit lame. That it implied a giver that’s too lazy or unimaginative to give a decent gift. But truthfully, I’m thrilled to receive gift cards. Hook me up with some plastic magic for Target, The Gap or Barnes & Noble, and I’m grinning like a Grinch whose heart’s grown three sizes. So giving gift cards can’t be so bad. Replace just one ceramic snowman with a Starbucks gift card and call me a happily caffeinated columnist. Not to mention my assuaged guilt from spending somebody else’s dough on indulgences like $4 coffee! A Wall Street Journal story states that 50 percent of holiday gift cards will be redeemed in January. My kiddos already …
44.926963
-92.96055
Target Stores
7200 Valley Creek Plz, Woodbury, MN
/articles/sweet-redemption-in-woodbury
1705495
/locations/6153599
44.944605
-92.922908
Gap
9000 Hudson Rd, Saint Paul, MN
/articles/sweet-redemption-in-woodbury
1705953
/locations/6153600
44.925845
-92.958634
Walgreens Drug Stores
1615 Queens Dr, Woodbury, MN
/articles/sweet-redemption-in-woodbury
1705545
/locations/6153601
44.941558
-92.936531
Starbucks Coffee
8362 Tamarack Vlg, Woodbury, MN
/articles/sweet-redemption-in-woodbury
1705120
/locations/6153602
A few tips on how to handle those sometimes-awkward interactions with the family this holiday season.
Company is coming. Are you ready to entertain extended family? Maybe you’re heading to Grandma’s house with a gluten-free cake and an electric wine-bottle opener. Either way, family gatherings are occasionally less enjoyable than they appear in Hallmark Channel movies. Sometimes, they’re downright stressful. It begins with initial greetings. “Merry Christmas” is acceptable. “Your hair looked better shorter” is not. But if Aunt Jean greets you with a hug and a remark about how your sweater doesn’t flatter your pear shape; be polite. I ascribe to the Penguins of Madagascar method of dealing with odd comments or advice. “Smile and wave.” For me, this means trying to rise above being offended. Change the subject. Move on. Pre-dinner …
Angela Johnson
10:41 am on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Fabulous idea Vicki! I'm going to make a note of that website. more ›