Fruit Cake Rival?
I think I can confidently identify the successor to the Christmas fruit cake — the talismanic gift that endlessly circulates, almost like a pseudo “gift currency.”
That would be the Barnes & Noble (or Amazon.com) gift card, pick your favorite denomination ($20, $50, or $100).
Maybe they can even start to put famous people’s profiles on them.
I nominate Paul Volcker for the $100 gift card.