Planning a quiet, stay at home Christmas this year? After the hectic pre-Christmas shopping and preparations for the celebration, you’ll be ready for a few days of leisure. Who doesn’t enjoy time to read a best seller, watch a movie or stay at home and relax in front of your own television? No driving required!

With a prepaid gift card in your wallet, you’re ready to reserve your seat at the local cinema or join the throng and book a day at the cricket. Whatever you enjoy on your days off, here are a few ideas to help you plan your time away from the workplace.

Holiday movies

Cinemas release a highly anticipated new movie on Boxing Day to draw the crowds who are recovering from the festivities on Christmas Day.  Use your prepaid gift card online or at the box office to reserve your seat and be one of the first to see the summer blockbusters.

This year’s movie menu covers genres from fantasy, through rock music to comic adventures and sci-fi. Here are the top movies scheduled for December, check the movie sites nearer the dates.

• Bohemian Rhapsody. A celebration of the legendary rock band Queen, and their lead singer Freddie Mercury.
• Mary Poppins Returns. Emily Blunt is everyone’s favourite London nanny.
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Introduces the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse.
• Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2. Disney 3D animated adventure in the Internet data space.
• Mortal Engines. Futuristic post-apocalyptic sci-fi where cities roam the globe on huge wheels.
• Alita: Battle Angel. American cyberpunk action film, set in the 26^th
• American superhero film based on the DC Comics character and set in the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.
• Transformers spin-off centring around the yellow VW bug, Bumblebee.

Holiday reading

Find time to read the books you’ve been given at Christmas or use your prepaid gift card to buy one for yourself. Here’s a list of the 10 business and finance titles rated as best sellers this year by Booktopia.

1. Principles: Life and Work – Ray Dalio
2. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action – Simon Sinek
3. The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage – Ryan Holiday
4. Crushing It: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Business and Influence – and How You Can, Too – Gary Vaynerchuk
5. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE – Phil Knight
6. Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
7. The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing – Benjamin Graham
8. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
9. Winging It: Stop Thinking, Start Doing: Why Action Beats Planning Every Time – Emma Isaacs
10. The Barefoot Investor 2018 Update: The Only Money Guide You’ll Ever Need – Scott Pape

Holiday viewing

Plan to catch up with the latest releases on television or use your prepaid card to purchase one of this year’s 10 best-selling DVDs, as recommended by Booktopia.

1. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season 2 – Volume 3 – André Sogliuzzo
2. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Complete Season Five – Matt Lanter
3. Arthur – Greta Gerwig
4. Oliver Twist – William Miller
5. The Bling Ring (DVD/UV) – Israel Broussard
6. The Secret Garden (1975) – Sarah Hollis Andrews
7. Da Kath and Kim Code – Jane Turner
8. Boy – Moerangi Tihore
9. Stephen Hawking’s Universe – Stephen Hawking
10. Brainiac: Science Abuse: You Really Shouldn’t Try This At Home – Series 3 + 4 – Ben Manne

Everyone enjoys receiving a prepaid gift card because they make it easy to buy the gift you really want.  When your employer gives you a card as an end of year gift, your time off during the Christmas break makes it easy to use it wherever VISA or Mastercard are accepted.

A survey by global financial technology company Blackhawk Network on the State of Consumer Gift Card Preferences in 2018 showed that 69% of employees would rather receive gift cards from employers in preference to other rewa