Share why gift cards make a great gift and creative ways for giving gift cards for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points!

Thank you for your interest in this program. We have reached our quota of 75 posts and are reviewing each post to make sure they met the requirements. Participants will be contacted via email regarding payment as per the Terms & Conditions below. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Buying gifts can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re looking for a gift people really want, pick up a gift card. According to a study by the National Retail Federation, they’re the gift of choice over clothing, consumer electronics and jewelry. In addition, they never have to be returned and are convenient to buy at the grocery store.

When shopping, we want more bang for our buck and quick and convenient options. Gift cards are the perfect gift for anyone - teachers, family members, friends and colleagues. There are so many ways you can save using gift cards while having fun giving and receiving them! By being a savvy shopper, you can reap the rewards when buying gift cards for others, plus you can buy gift cards for your own large purchases for big savings. Check out your local grocery store for details and information on specific promotions.

We’ve teamed up with our friends at www.giftcardsrock.com on a fun blogging program asking you to share why you love to give and receive gift cards along with creative tips for giving gift cards to the friends and family. What type of gift cards do you like to receive? What’s your favorite gift card to give a friend? Have you ever had any perks come with a gift card purchase? What’s the best gift you ever bought yourself with a gift card?

Here are a few great ways gift cards can help you:

Save at the pump – Consumers can earn significant fuel discounts when buying gift cards in grocery stores nationwide through fuel savings programs.

Earn rewards - Many grocery stores offer rewards on your next shopping trip when purchasing gift cards.
Save time - one of the most precious savings of all is your time. Gift cards are available at your grocery store offering a one-stop shopping experience with hundreds of top brands all in one place.

We can’t wait to hear all your reasons for why gift cards make a great gift idea and why you have enjoyed receiving and giving gift cards in the past. We're looking for quality over speed, so please read on.

Posting Guidelines
We are looking for seventy-five creative, original and authentic blog submissions of high quality. Create an original post on your blog, in 400 words or more, telling us about your passion for gift cards and creative ways for gifting gift cards. Share your past experiences of giving and receiving gift cards and why you think gift cards are a great gift. When you are looking for a last-minute gift you know the recipient will love, why are gift cards a great option? Include a thoughtful introduction, original content within the body of your post, and a conclusion. Check your spelling and grammar. You must also include the disclosure statement that is below in your post and install the Facebook Like Box in your post. Then follow the rest of the requirements below. We will review every post and the first 75 qualifying submissions will receive 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points!

The blogging program starts on December 21, 2011 and the submission window closes at 11:59pm PST on January 20, 2012. We will contact the qualifying bloggers on or about January 27, 2012. Full terms and conditions are posted for your review at http://bit.ly/sMfSnb.

If you have any questions, please email Alysha Pascua directly at alysha@socialmoms.com.

Rewards for Participating:
The first 75 qualifying participants will receive 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points! See Terms and Conditions.

Requirements:
To participate, we ask that you:

Create an original blog post on your blog, in 400 words or more, telling us about "Your passion for gift cards and creative ways to give them." Please include a thoughtful introduction and conclusion in addition to the main body of your essay. Give it plenty of thought, and include content that your readers would like to hear about and can connect with! Short or poorly written posts will not be accepted. Copying and pasting does not count. Blank posts submitted to create a blog link on the discussion page will be disqualified. Don't copy another blogger's post or ideas. Plagiarism is grounds for immediate disqualification.
Participants must include the following disclosure as a footnote of their post:
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Gift Cards Rock blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” (make sure you link to http://www.socialmoms.net/forum/topics/gift-cards-rock)
Install the “Like” Box on your blog post

Grab the Like Box Code Here

Log on to your Twitter account, www.twitter.com, and send a tweet including a link to your blog post with the hashtag #GiftCardsRock.
Return to http://www.socialmoms.net/forum/topics/gift-cards-rock and post a comment on this discussion page in the comments section below, including an active link to your blog post and a direct link to your Twitter tweet. (You can click on the date/time link below your tweet to get the direct link to your tweet.)

Eligibility:
No purchase required to participate. You must be a legal resident of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, have a personal blog and be a registered user of the www.socialmoms.net and www.twitter.com websites to participate and at least 18 years of age or older at time of submission. See Terms and Conditions. Please see SocialMoms FAQs for more information on blogging programs.

Join the Gift Cards Rock community on Facebook to learn about great gift cards deals, share exciting gift card tips and keep your eye out for amazing giveaways! Gift Cards Rock is an online community for people who love to give and receive gift cards.

Follow @GiftCardsRock on Twitter and the #GiftCardsRock hashtag for exciting gift card information.

As a special bonus, click to tweet on this link to share the news about #GiftCardsRock ... and you will automatically be entered to win one of 15 $20 Amazon.com gift cards! (See official rules.)

Tags: creative ways to give gift cards, gift cards, gift cards rock, giving gift cards

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ellen C on December 21, 2011 at 11:17am

http://www.confessionsofanover-workedmom.com/2011/12/gift-cards-mak...

http://twitter.com/#!/scentednights/status/149569123674882049

We don't need the widget any longer? I also don't see any mention of a word minimum so hopefully I am OK?

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Permalink Reply by Megan Calhoun on December 21, 2011 at 11:38am

No widget is required on this campaign. It will be a requirement on upcoming campaigns, however. Please post the Facebook like box as listed in the requirements though. Thanks!

Ellen C said:

http://www.confessionsofanover-workedmom.com/2011/12/gift-cards-mak...

http://twitter.com/#!/scentednights/status/149569123674882049

We don't need the widget any longer? I also don't see any mention of a word minimum so hopefully I am OK?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Caren Haug on December 21, 2011 at 12:00pm

I am having issues with the FB like box not displaying, but working on it....

http://livingononeincome.blogspot.com/2011/12/giving-and-receiving-...

http://twitter.com/#!/PinchingAbe/status/149577508038262784

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Permalink Reply by Megan Calhoun on December 21, 2011 at 12:06pm

Let us know if you can't get the Like box to work, and we'll try to help you out. You can email alysha@socialmoms.com for assistance. Thanks!

Caren Haug said:

I am having issues with the FB like box not displaying, but working on it....

http://livingononeincome.blogspot.com/2011/12/giving-and-receiving-...

http://twitter.com/#!/PinchingAbe/status/149577508038262784

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Megan Calhoun on December 21, 2011 at 12:08pm

We are actually updating the code, so we'll send it to you in a minute. Thanks!

Caren Haug said:

I am having issues with the FB like box not displaying, but working on it....

http://livingononeincome.blogspot.com/2011/12/giving-and-receiving-...

http://twitter.com/#!/PinchingAbe/status/149577508038262784

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Megan Calhoun on December 21, 2011 at 12:08pm

We updated the copy. It should be 400+ words. Thanks!

Ellen C said:

http://www.confessionsofanover-workedmom.com/2011/12/gift-cards-mak...

http://twitter.com/#!/scentednights/status/149569123674882049

We don't need the widget any longer? I also don't see any mention of a word minimum so hopefully I am OK?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Gustke on December 21, 2011 at 12:09pm

Here is my post:

http://www.upstateramblings.com/2011/12/the-perfect-easy-giftgift-c...

and my tweet:

http://twitter.com/#!/lunaj1456/status/149582076755193856

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Permalink Reply by Caren Haug on December 21, 2011 at 12:13pm

OK, here's the problem as figured out by my genius hubby that I would never have figured out on my own. You need the FB developer code or it won't display. Please tell people this or provide instructions.

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box/

If you don't have the developer script in your own template, you need to add it in. If you go there and put in the sponsor's FB name, then you can click generate code. If you don't have the root part, you need to add it. If you already have it, you just need the second half of the code they display (which is what we were provided).

Hope this helps save somebody some frustration :) My box is displaying now.

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Permalink Reply by Charity L. on December 21, 2011 at 12:15pm

Blog Post is here-http://giveawaygal.blogspot.com/2011/12/gift-cards-make-great-gifts...

Tweet is here-https://twitter.com/#!/kingsdaughter24/status/149582908754104320

I tried adding the Like box but nt working on my computer. Will have to see if I can get it to work.
Disclaimer is at the bottom.

ETA-Got the updated code and it worked:) Also over 400 words. Thanks!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Megan Calhoun on December 21, 2011 at 12:15pm

The Like Box code has been updated and should now show up on your blog. If you have any questions, please email alysha@socialmoms.com directly.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lori Lyman on December 21, 2011 at 12:24pm

Here is my blog post : http://www.atthefenceonline.com/2011/12/gift-cards-make-great-gifts...

Here is my Tweet : https://twitter.com/#!/Atthefence/status/149583710872809472

My disclaimer is at the bottom, it is over 400 words, and I added the Like button.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Megan Calhoun on December 21, 2011 at 12:25pm

Hi Caren,

Thank you for your help. The Like Box code has been updated and will show up on your blog automatically. No need to add anything else for it to show.

Caren Haug said:

OK, here's the problem as figured out by my genius hubby that I would never have figured out on my own. You need the FB developer code or it won't display. Please tell people this or provide instructions.

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box/

If you don't have the developer script in your own template, you need to add it in. If you go there and put in the sponsor's FB name, then you can click generate code. If you don't have the root part, you need to add it. If you already have it, you just need the second half of the code they display (which is what we were provided).

Hope this helps save somebody some frustration :) My box is displaying now.