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The Elm City Elf Weighs in on Gift Cards

As one of Santa’s elves, I am generally regarded as a leading expert on gift giving. In this bizarre year many people are at a loss at what to buy friends and relatives. While we are spending more time at home, not everyone wants clap on/clap off lights. I say 2020 is the Year of the Gift Card. Why, you ask? Let me tell you.

After a hard day in the faux office, who wants to spend even more time in the kitchen? A restaurant gift card lets recipients take a break from cooking when the urge strikes. Whether it’s an at-home dream date avec candles (I don’t know the French word for candles) or an antidote to trying to learn new math, the restaurant gift card is in your hand at the perfect moment to deliver the most joy. Whether you prefer to eat in the restaurant, in your home or up on the rooftop (not really – that is seriously frowned upon), restaurant fare is a delicious change from the contents of your Plague Preparedness Closet filled with boxed mac and cheese, ramen noodles, cereal and canned soup.
While many are working from home currently, sometime in 2021 it is likely that we will be returning to the workplace and your closet is going to need an upgrade. Many of your Zoom wardrobe tricks will no longer be up to snuff:
Wearing the same shirt everyday with different scarf/tie/pin/earrings
Turning the heat up or down to match your available outfits – seasons will be making a big, bold comeback
Carefully placing your laptop camera to avoid the stains/holes in your shirts
While doing laundry is so 2019, it is not going to be avoidable next year
Wearing a dress shirt, tie and pajama bottoms
Until we are cleared for socializing, home is where the heart (and my elfin buns) will be. A gift card lets the giftee select a new/replacement item in the home that means the most. I don’t know about your friends and family, but mine are unpredictable. Whether it is a new throw for the couch, bunny slippers, a fuchsia jacket or a self-help book, a gift card leaves the choice up to them.

If you are looking to shop somewhere besides the big A, you can click on these links for stores and restaurants offering online shopping and gift cards. And if you offer these services and your business isn’t on our list, just visit the Partners section on www.visitnewhaven.com and complete the appropriate form.

These photos were taken prior to the pandemic.

Ice Sculpture photo courtesy of The Shops at Yale.

Insider Tip: You can leapfrog to the top of Santa’s good list if you wear your mask, keep your distance and wash your hands. He’s willing to overlook some of your other transgressions in support of public health. Hopefully, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime offer so don’t let it go to waste.

More to Explore

Hamden Home Holiday Light Map Read More

Artistry at the Guilford Art Center Read More

Santa Visits the Shore Line Trolley Museum Read More

Info New Haven Holiday Graphic with Elves

This newsletter is produced in collaboration with the South Central Regional Council of Governments. www.scrcog.org

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