Creative Ways to Give a Gift Card

Gift cards are wonderful. We like to give them, as well as receive them. But when it comes to gifting them, how do you go beyond just adding them into a greeting card or gift bag? 

Whatever the occasion, try to elevate your gift card giving game using these creative gift card presentation ideas. It’s minimal effort with maximum effect. 

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How do I make my gift card more interesting?

We all like gift cards because of what they offer: ease and customization. But knowing how to couple “gift card” with “interesting,” well, that’s the question, right? How do you present a gift card, beyond the paper sleeve, in a way that shows you expended more effort than a quick stop at Kroger or CVS?

Well, you make it personal. While that can take many forms — from simple to over the top — those small steps of personalization offer a creative and caring touch.

Whatever special occasion you have looming, here are several creative gift card presentation ideas you can use for inspiration. 

How do you present a bunch of gift cards?

Have you ever been in a situation where you had multiple gift cards to give? For me, the things that come to mind are those group, gift-giving opportunities: Teacher Appreciation Week, class “Thank You!” gifts for a teacher or Bible study leader, a group birthday gift for a friend or family member, a Get Well gift, team gifts for a special coach or teacher, etc. 

Below, you’ll find a variety of ideas from Marian at HowClever! for presenting a collection of gift cards with personalization and pizazz!

1) Potted plant gift card bouquet

This one is so easy to put together and can be used to present a variety of gift cards for all kinds of gifts: Get Well, Thinking of You, Teacher Appreciation, and more. 

With just a simple container and an easy-to-care-for plant, all that’s required is adding the gift cards you’ve collected to some type of stake or holder. 

Some ideas for displaying the gift cards in your plant include:

• taping the gift cards to wooden skewers (which is what we did here), flower stakes, or straws

• using card-holder floral picks (either plastic or wire)

• attaching with alligator clips like these.

Most likely, you have one or more of these items on hand.

Marian then simply created a “Thinking of You” label on her computer and attached it to a burlap band that she wrapped around the plant’s container.

If you’d like to get a copy of this label, along with the others shown in this post, here’s a link to the printable.

Obviously, this one would work with just about any plant or flower arrangement, so the sky’s the limit. You also could fill a bucket with sand, add a shovel, maybe a bow and a cute tag, and stake your gift cards just as we’ve shown here.

2) Shadow box display for gift card presentation

This would be so cute for a class gift during Teacher Appreciation week! As you can see, it doesn’t take much to personalize the shadow box, and it would serve as a cute and simple way for students to collect and gift their teacher with gift cards to all of his or her favorite places.

We found this shadow box for only $5 in the Dollar Spot at Target. It has a slide-out back, so you can personalize it in one of two ways.  

One, Hobby Lobby has scrapbook paper that looks like notebook paper that you can cut to fit the frame, and then just hand-write a personal note; or two, you can use a platform like Canva to find an editable template to customize, download, and print. 

If you like the one Marian created, we’re sharing a printable copy you can download and print. To personalize, you’d simply need to add your teacher’s name and any other details you’d like to include.

While you might not be able to get this same shadow box, you can find pretty inexpensive ones in many places. 

3) Gift cards presented on a metal letter

We love this idea! Using a metal letter, you can create the cutest gift card display that then also serves as part of a fabulous gift!

We bought this one at Hobby Lobby, where you can find them in many styles and sizes. The key to making this one, though, is using a metal letter since magnets attach the flowers and gift cards.

To make the flower magnets, simply find the faux florals you wish to use. We like the Gerber daisies because they come in bright colors and have a large surface to hide the magnets. You will need a clip magnetic like this or this. Once you cut the flower top from the stem, you’ll use your glue gun to affix the flower to the magnet.

And voila! You’re all set to gather your gift cards for a precious presentation. This would be an excellent gift for high school graduation (using something other than flowers) or even a birthday.

4) Gift card bouquet with a garland 

If you’ve been following us for a while, this one probably looks familiar. In our post, DIY Care Packages: Simple Steps to Cute & Clever, we showed you how to create a themed gift card garland for sending a quick and easy care package to your college student. But you can apply the general idea to a variety of occasions (Happy Birthday, Get Well, Congrats, etc.) using whatever garland you feel best represents either the person or situation. 

Garlands are having a moment, and with so many cute options — whether it’s a tassel, pom-pom, or seasonal — including one that the recipient could then use and display can also become part of the gift.

I also think this would be a cute idea for a bridal or baby shower. Serving double duty, the hostess could use a cute garland on the wall or mantle for decoration, as well as a place for party goers to clip their gift card gifts, recipe cards, or well-wishes as they arrive.

While all of the above were made specifically for creating a presentation for multiple gift cards, both the gift card bouquet in the plant and the metal letter could easily be given as a solo gift using only one gift card.

What are creative ways to give gift cards when you have just one?

However, most of the time we give gift cards, it’s a single gift, and it’s here where most of us can up our game. But again, minimal effort is all that’s required. 

And if you’re reading this and thinking being creative isn’t your thing, well, that’s why we’re here! Marian has taken the guesswork away, so you don’t have to come up with the ideas for presenting your gift card. All you have to do is copy the one(s) you like best!

Quick and easy gift card presentation ideas

The next time you have a gift card to present, here are some ideas to make that gift just a little more special:

Sweet and simple

With so many great water bottles, insulated wine cups, coffee mugs, and more, it doesn’t stress the imagination to transform something simple to fit a variety of gift-giving occasions and recipients.

The ideas below probably don’t cost not much more (if at all) than a nice greeting card or gift bag, but each creates a sweet and thoughtful touch.

1) Acrylic cup or tumbler

Gift cards are perfect for high school graduation. Still, you can add appeal to the presentation by dropping the card inside the appropriate collegiate-branded tumbler and simply adding some complementary-colored shred.

Receiving gifts emblazoned with their new college logo often is a highlight for soon-to-be college freshmen, and while the gift card will be put to quick use, the tumbler is one of those things they likely will continue to use and like for years to come.

2) Coffee mug

Here’s a gift card presentation idea that is simple to do but ups your gift card giving game! The mug we used in the image above is no longer available, but here’s a cute one from Williams Sonoma. Just pop the gift card into some pink shred, and you’re ready to go! Of course, this gift card idea would work with any recipient for any occasion based on the mug and gift card you choose.

If you’re like me, I always try to find a gift first, particularly when buying for my mom or mother-in-law. They both are great and certainly deserve to be celebrated. However, I’ve also found that to be increasingly difficult because neither of our moms really “need” anything.

In fact, that was the primary driver behind this post: Find Unique Gifts for Mom This Mother’s Day. Check it out if you’re looking for some ideas!

However, sometimes, giving a gift card to someone’s favorite store is the best way to go. So if you find yourself in that position — whomever the gift is for — well, at least now you have some different options for presenting your gift card with a bit of panache.

3) Lanyard or keychain

Using a lanyard or keychain is another simple idea based on the occasion. You can hole punch your gift card and add it to a keychain or lanyard. Or, if your gift card is for a special coach, consider clipping to a sports whistle! Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy!

Gift cards with a personal touch

Here we’ve taken the same approach as above but added a little bit of “extra” with a DIY gift tag. For the most part, all we did here to elevate the presentation of sweet and simple was to add a little bit of personalization.

Below you’ll find a few easy ideas for presenting a gift card to someone, and as a bonus, we’ve included a link to download and print the gift tags.

1) Mason jar: You are Marvelous & Magnificent!

Maybe it’s for Teacher Appreciation Week, or perhaps it’s a simple gift just to say “Thanks!” or “Thinking of you.” Whatever the reason, here’s an idea for presenting someone with a gift card using just a mason jar and M&Ms.

At Christmas, you could turn your mason jar into a snow globe. I like these two tutorials from Hip2Save and Home Made Lovely. Both are so cute!

2) Tumbler 2.0: Thanks a Latte!

Okay, back to the tumbler! Starbucks gift cards are such a popular gift that it just made sense to circle back around to this idea. Below is another easy idea when giving a gift card from Starbucks. All we did on this one was add black shred to the cup and a simple DIY “Thanks a latte!” tag.

While Starbucks is often the default, most locally-owned coffee shops also have merch. If I was giving this to someone local (or in their 20s), I might look for an option other than Starbucks but do everything else the same.

And nothing against Starbucks, but both of my young adult children seem to prefer unique coffee shops over the bigger chain.

3) Beauty products: Hang in there!

If you are giving someone a spa gift card, you’re probably not going to spend much more on the embellishment. By using this idea to present a gift card, you won’t need to do that. However, that still doesn’t mean you need to settle for the card only!

Adding a DIY tag and a simple — yet complementary — add-on, like this scrub (or something similar, such as a face mask, bath bomb, etc.), you have a gift with a personal touch.

As with all our examples, this works for any gift where you want the gift card to shine.

4) Give it a theme

Sometimes, the easiest place to start is with a theme.

Movie Night or Date Night buckets are easy to make and fun to give.

We started with an inexpensive bucket from Hobby Lobby, but you also can add everything you see here to an Orville Redenbacher popcorn tub for something equally affordable but also just as cute.

Marian pulled this all together, much like how she created the gift card bouquets. She attached the gift card — the star of the show — and a few DIY-themed tags to wooden skewers (Note: Placing a little floral foam in the base of the bucket gives you an anchor for those cards and tags).

From there, she just filled in the gaps with paper shred and added candy and a couple of drinks. Wrapping it up with a bow around the bucket, you have a cute way to give a gift card.

Baby and bridal: Bridal and baby shower gifts easily lend themselves to giving gift cards with a little extra.

If you are buying a baby or bridal gift, the best place to begin is with the couple’s registry. Purchase one or two less expensive items on their list and then wrap those up with a gift card to one of their “requested” retailers.

After all, when you are attending a shower, it’s always way more fun to see someone open a gift rather than just a gift card.

Doing something like this also might be your best option if you wait until the last minute to buy a gift (been there, done that!) and find all that’s left on the registry are the high-end items. I’ve been to many showers, but buying someone a stroller is a different level of love:)

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Welcome Home: When giving a gift card as a housewarming gift, particularly for a young adult or newly-married couple moving into their first home, there are so many easy ideas for giving a gift card.

Here, we’ve added a gift card to a simple charcuterie board (another inexpensive find from the Dollar Spot at Target) tied up with some kitchen towels and a wooden spoon.

However, this is just one quick example. Many home goods would work just as well. For instance, you could add a gift card to any one of these items: an oven mitt, mixing bowl, glass measuring cup, apron, etc.

Another nice touch is to add a favorite recipe if your gift is for a newly-married couple or young adult.

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Okay, so now you have no excuses! The next time you give a gift card, use one of these gift card presentation ideas to up your gift-card-giving game. It’s way better than boring!

Happy Gifting!

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