Bitcoin is the only gift I've given to adult family and close friends for the past 6 months. I love the excuse to send someone a fraction of a Bitcoin.
If it makes you nervous, fund a bunch of paper wallets for cold storage, and "misplace" a couple of them. Maybe a couple of people you like will "find" them.
I'm about to use
http://coinapult.com/faq to send my next Bitcoin birthday gift (it's too late to send a paper wallet). I'd always heard of Coinapult as a company associated with Eric Voorhees, nice to finally see a time to try it.
BTW, Tony Gallippi (BitPay co-founder) spoke at a meetup here last week, and he believes giving Bitcoin as a gift does not require a capital gains calculation. So for people with a low cost-basis (who feel the need to go by the books and declare Bitcoin gains on their taxes), giving Bitcoin as a gift could be an especially tax-efficient thing to do. Of course, Mr. Gallippi could be wrong, but I assume he is one of the more informed people on Bitcoin tax implications.
