Unwrapping gift cards

Personally, I prefer diving into a huge pile of presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

As a gal who relishes ripping into wrapping ( saving the nice paper, crumpling the cheap stuff), I've never understood the appeal of gift cards. I mean, can you make a funny hat out of bows when your prezzie comes in a little envelope?

Merchants, however, adore gift cards, likely because so many consumers don't redeem them. Gift cards are even more enticing this year, thanks to some bells and whistles. Here are a few:

At macys.com, shoppers can upload photo portraits onto a gift card and include a personalized greeting. The extra touch adds $5 to the price. Best Buy offers a similar deal for $4.50 and Starbucks charges a $4 custom fee.

Home Depot has rolled out a gift card that does doubles as a how-to DVD. You can buy what you need for a project -- and then learn how to do it.