ON THE TOWN:Skip the gift card; find a real present

Most of us are going to have to make some very tough buying decisions over the next couple of weeks.

Buying a holiday gift should be more than just traipsing down to the supermarket to get a gift card for someone. And if you’ve ever seen the smile on the face of a loved one when he or she opens that thoughtful gift, you’ll understand why. But now there’s another reason to avoid gift cards.

First, a little background. Retailers love gift cards because the average gift card holder has a balance of approximately 20% left on his or her gift card.

As an aggregate, nationally, we are holding $972 million in unused gift card revenue.

Much of that will never be spent, but even if it is, it still represents a lot of money paid in advance of receiving goods or services. In the Smith home at this time, we are holding five gift cards with balances and one gift certificate for a massage.

The reason you may want to avoid gift cards for now, besides being highly impersonal, is that thieves have figured out how to defraud you of your money.

According to an online message that was forwarded to me, thieves are going to stores that have racks of gift cards and copying down the registration numbers.

Then they call the store periodically to see if the card has been activated. Once they know it has, they start shopping online.

Pretty clever. I guess you just can’t keep a good thief down.

So to avoid fraud and impersonalization, here are some Newport-Mesa gift ideas that are unique.

On a Duffy, you can fit up to 15 people, although we have found nine to be a good number. You can and should bring your own food, drinks and music, as Duffys have CD players.

Duffys can be rented by the hour on West Coast Highway just west of the Balboa Bay Club. For more information, call (949) 645-6812, ext. 119

Have a glass of wine, eat some cheese and crackers and snuggle up. And don’t let the colder weather stop you — cold clear nights are often the best times to take gondola trips.

Gondolas leave from Lido Marina Village. For more information, call (949) 675-1212 or visit www.gondolas.com.

The Bungalow steaks are superb and they have an outstanding wine list to boot.

But even with all this good food and drink, they have also maintained an exceptional level of service.

Located on East Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, the Bungalow is aptly named. It’s not a big place, so reservations are highly recommended. But even if you have to wait, it’s worth it.

Contact the restaurant at (949) 673-6585 or go to www.the bungalowrestaurant.com.

But Hi-Time also has a huge cigar selection as well as rows and rows of spirits, mixers and gourmet foods.

There’s a wine bar too.

What makes it for me, though, is that everyone at Hi-Time knows their stuff. Hi-Time is at 250 Ogle St. in Costa Mesa, off of 17th Street near Mother’s Market. The phone number is (949) 650-8463 or you can visit them at www.hitimewine.net.

So, skip the gift card. It’s only going to sit in a drawer for a year.