Beware those gift certificates

Paula Fox contributes this holiday tip:

I wanted to give everyone a heads-up that if you intend to give gift cards around the holidays, you need to be careful that the cards will be honored after the holidays.

Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the cards through the holidays even though the cards will be worthless January 1. There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the contrary, it is referred to as "bankruptcy planning."

Here is a partial list of stores you need to be cautious about.

• Circuit City: filed for Chapter 11
• Ann Taylor: 117 stores nationwide closing
• Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherine's: to close 150 stores nationwide
• Eddie Bauer: to close stores 27 stores and more after January
• Cache: will close all stores
• Talbot's: closing specialty stores
• J. Jill: (owned by Talbot's) closing all stores
• Pacific Sunwear: (owned by Talbots) closing
• GAP: closing 85 stores
• Footlocker: closing 140 stores, more to close after January
• Wickes Furniture: closing
• Levitz: closing remaining stores
• Bombay: closing remaining stores
• Zale's: closing 82 stores, 105 after January
• Whitehall: closing all stores
• Piercing Pagoda: closing all stores
• Disney: closing 98 stores, more after January.
• Home Depot: closing 15 stores
• Macy's: to close 9 stores after January
• Linens and Things: closing all stores
• Movie Galley: closing all stores
• Pep Boys: closing 33 stores
• Sprint/Nextel: closing 133 stores
• JC Penney: closing a number of stores after January
• Ethan Allen: closing stores
• Wilson Leather: closing all stores
• Sharper Image: closing all stores
• KB Toys: closing 356 stores
• Loew's: to close down some stores
• Dillard's: to close some stores