Monday, August 6

Quick, easy birthday gift

Ever need a quick birthday gift for a kid?  Or get tired of giving the same old Target gift card?  Me, too.

My own children assure me that kids love to receive money as a gift, even more than gift cards.  But tucking a bill into a card doesn't seem like much fun to me.

Here's a fun way to give a money gift.  Obtain dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies in the number of years that the birthday boy or girl is celebrating.  For instance, here's the money you'd need for a gift for a 5-year-old:


Now package the money however you like--in a small gift bag, in a clear plastic bag tied with festive ribbon, or maybe in a little bucket from the dollar store, like this:

This made a great birthday gift for a total cost of $7.05 plus an extra dollar for the packaging.  (And since I had the spare change just sitting in a drawer, it felt like it only cost $5.00.)  Not a bad price for a fun birthday gift!

Needless to say, this gets more expensive for the older the kids get, but for younger kids it's lots of fun.  I've made a tradition of giving this gift to my boys every year, starting when the oldest turned five.  It's an extra little gift from Mom to the boys.  This year, Will's gift totalled $29.61 of cash.  I asked the boys if they felt like they'd outgrown this little tradition, and Preston replied, "Are you kidding?  We'll never outgrow this!"  I'm hoping that I'm still around when they turn 40; it would be fun to wrap up $56.40 in small bills and loose change and watch them open it.

Have any ideas for quick and easy kid's gifts?  Please share!

I'm joining Beth at Home Stories A to Z for Tutorials and Tips
Vanessa and Heather At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

15 comments:

  1. What a fun idea! My kids are the age where this would be very cool (and not too expensive)

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  2. What a fun idea! I have a special ten year old cousin whose birthday I missed. I'm going to do this for him!

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  3. For graduation my daughter got 20.12 in checks , it was really cute and she loved it!

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  4. Great idea, Richella. I used to give the kids (nephews, neices, etc) their age in gold one dollar pieces. They are hard to find anymore though- xo Diana

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  5. You always find such fun ways to "pretty up" things!

    We give money to everyone as their main gift for their birthdays, but always just add it to their cards. Then I also have a gift for them to unwrap.

    I like the little bucket!

    Love, Linda

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  6. So cute! When my girls were little we would take the dollar bills to the party store, roll them up really tight, and have them stick the money in a helium balloon. That way the birthday kid gets a fun bunch of balloons with dollar bills inside! They have to pop the balloons to get to the money. Fun!

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  7. This is such a sweet idea. My son's birthday is in Sept. I will have to remember to do this for him too. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. What do you think about Custom gift cards to be used as a birthday gift?

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  9. That is such an awesome idea! I know my boys would LOVE that! We have two birthdays coming up soon, I may have to try it out:)

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  10. That's a great idea, especially as a gift for a child you don't know very well. Birthday parties can be so hard to shop for. Love this. :)

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  11. So, so cute. I've done money, like dollar bills, but never the coins too. Thanks for a wonderful idea! :)

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  12. My grandmother use to give me $1 for each year. . .still did even after I had my own kids (her great grandkids). Some years she was off by a couple of dollars. . she has so many grandkids and great grandkids she did this for. I love your idea. . totally stealing it for my neieces and nephews.

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  13. Wow! What a great idea! I will definitely use this one!

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  14. Such a cute tradition! Lacey's 5th birthday just passed - guess I will have to start it on her sixth. I love those little things that make each birthday or holiday special. My husband's family does lottery tickets at Christmas and we have brought that tradition to our family. It is so funny to see my 91 year old Baptist grandmother so excited to win $2 from a scratch off card.

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