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Gift giving is more than just empty cash transfers.

You could level your hate at anything. "Great, mom. Now I'm stuck playing with this one corporation's toy instead of having the cash to buy whatever I want. Ugh, I hate it!"

It makes you sound ridiculous.

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Gift cards can be a reasonable gift. For example, you know someone likes hiking etc. and buys gear at $OUTDOOR_STORE but you really don't know what they want/need. But on the whole they're a bit of a scam based on what's mostly a relatively upper class attitude, at least on the US, about giving cash as a gift.

cash is a pretty terrible gift for people who give each other presents on a regular basis, unless the relationship is not reciprocal. if you and your friend just give each other $50 on Christmas, it's sort of pointless. if you give your friend a $50 gift card, now they have to go get themselves something nice that they wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

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