Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Creative ways to Gift Money – Everyone loves Cold Hard CASH

November 8, 2011 by  
Filed under Fun Gifts

Do you tend not to give Cash for presents because you think it is too impersonal? Well get over it and get creative !!

Giving Cash as a present is sometimes the best choice especially when you have no ideas what to give. Choosing a gift for someone these days seems to be so much harder than it has in the past.  So why not save yourself the stress and just give Cold Hard Cash !!

I have had such a hard time myself with this concept, but as the kids get older buying them gifts is just not as easy anymore. For one the gifts they want now cost a lot more than my budget allows for each of them. Second I would much rather give them money that they can save up towards the things they really want vs. buying something that they will end up using one time and having it go to waste.

The only hard part for kids when you give Cash is the instant gratification of having something to play with right away when they open their gifts – that is something they will have to learn to get over. They will soon learn that they will have more fun being able to go to the store and buy the things that they want and it will also teach them (hopefully) the value of money and what things cost. And if you are lucky they will learn to save up for the big things – my kids are still working on that one. They like to spend as soon as they receive, but hopefully that will change.

Yes I think Gift Cards are great too, but when you get one to a particular store it limits them. I guess it all depends on what they are looking to buy. I think Cash is always the best way to go because they can spend it where ever and however they want.

When it comes to parents RSVPing and asking what your child wants for their Birthday do not feel funny about saying Cash/Money. Tell them your child is saving up or likes to shop for things they want. BUT also have a few things you can tell them they can get as options. Sometimes saying Cash is a weight off their shoulders because now they do not have to go out to buy a gift – so it is a win win for all.

I am not saying do away with buying gifts all together – I am just saying that there is nothing wrong with giving Money as an option. We all need to get over the “It’s so Impersonal” thing. I have NEVER seen anyone get upset that they received Cash have you? Just Sayin’ – Myself included lol.

To make giving Cash/Money a bit more fun for the giver and the one receiving it I want to show you some Creative Ideas that you can do – some I have even done myself.

Are you familiar with Origami? Origami is the art of folding paper. This is a fun way to gift Cash because there are so many fun shapes you can fold it into. Last year for my Nephew I did just that. I created a Shirt and Pants and also a Shirt and Tie with his Cash Gift. It was unexpected and he really loved it.

You can find lots of Tutorials on Origami Money Folding on You Tube that is what I did – it made it a lot easier to follow when you can watch someone doing it.

Here are some of my other favorite ways to fold Cash:

Origami Money Xmas Tree

Origami Money Rose

Origami Money Heart

Origami Dollar Bill Ring

This is just a small taste on what you can do – there are millions of ways. There are tons of books on Dollar Bill Origami available and again you can search Google & You Tube for instructions on how to do them as well. Is that cool or what? My only suggestion is that if you are a first timer at it – go for the EASY ones, trust me.

My father, who I might add is a bit crafty as well, was always coming up with Creative ways to Give Money to my sister for Christmas since she is so hard to buy for. One year he got $100 (may have been more – do not remember exact amount but no less than $100) in fresh new Dollar bills from the bank and taped them all together. He then rolled them up and placed them into a Tissue Box in place of the Tissues. When my sister pulled on the first bill the money kept on coming. It was very funny.

Another year I remember him getting $100 in Gold Coins and buying a Plush Goldfish. He cut it open and removed the stuffing from the inside and re stuffed it with the Gold Coins and sewed it back together. My sister still has all the money to this day. Yeah well I guess some of us are well off. For me that would have been used and gone the next day – lol.

Last year for my 40th Birthday (yikes I gave away my age) my sister in law gave me $40 in Dollar Bills and placed them all in a Cupcake Tree. So I got cash and a Cupcake Tree – Bonus !! I loved it.

Here is an idea I have yet to try, but may this holiday season – Money Mazes/Puzzles. These cool gadgets are easy to add money into, but making a withdrawal is a bit more difficult. To get the money out you have to complete the Maze or Puzzle and then a secret door will open to get the cash out. Yes it costs to buy these and that will be added to the amount of your gift, but it just adds to the fun. They even sell them for gift cards.  You can find these and more on Amazon HERE

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Not sure all the ways I will be gifting Money this year, but I have read some good ones out there.

Here are some of my Favorite Ideas I came across:

  • Bill Pickles –  You need a pickle or canning jar and longer green balloons. Insert the money into the balloons and then blew them up into pickle shapes and stuffed them into the jar. Add 6 or more pickles in the jar, depending on the amount you are giving. You can adjust your number of pickles as needed, depending on the size of balloon. Then fill the jar with water. You can then create a label on the computer and list the ingredients!
  • Money Balloons – Have a bunch of balloons filled with helium, BUT when you are having them blown up have the person stick the money into the balloons. Giving $10 then get 10 Balloons – a perfect Bouquet and the receiver will have to pop each one to open their gift.
  • Pot of Gold – Paint a Terra Cotta Pot Gold and then fill it with gold dollar coins.Wrap it in cellophane and tie with gold ribbon. Then add a card saying “Wishing you a Pot of Gold at the end of all of your Rainbows.”
  • Money Nuts – Carefully open a walnut, remove the walnut, place a folded bill inside and then glue it back together. Place the walnuts inside a gift bag filled with regular walnuts. Give them a nut cracker and let the fun begin !!!
  • Toilet Paper Money – Unwrap the whole role of Toilet Paper and tape a dollar bill every so often onto the sheets. You can included fake bills every so many bills – you can even find ones you can print with the recipients picture on it.  Then roll everything back up and tape it with a fun sticker or tape. Imagine ones face when you give them a roll of Toilet Paper for a gift and even better watch their face as they sit there and roll the whole thing.

Now I want to hear from you !! Tell me some of the ways you may have given or received Money as a gift.

Contact Me and let me know so I can add it to the list for all to see !!

Comments

6 Responses to “Creative ways to Gift Money – Everyone loves Cold Hard CASH”
  1. SISTA PEEP says:

    UH HUH THAT’S RIGHT ……STILL HAVE ALL THE $$$$$$$ TUCKED AWAY @ THE BANK!! Oh I like your tissue box better then the one I got …yours has FIFTIES coming out of it!!!!!!

  2. Megan says:

    For my sons Christmas present I bought a box if envelopes and we put a bill in each envelope, one had a gift card, some had slips of paper saying IOU $1 some had tens or fives. Then we sealed them all up and put them back in the box. Keep in mind that the box won’t hold the same number of stuffed envelopes as it does empty. We had him open the box and asked if there was anything in the envelopes. Then he saw money and started opening them. His next present was a letter opener. It was a lot of fun and we all laughed so hard. He would open one and pull out his dollar and act like he was surprised and thrilled “A DOLLAR!!!!!” The next birthday we gave him and inexpensive photo album with a 3×5 card in the odd number pages with a little note and on the even pages were gift cards. His sisters and girlfriend wrote him special notes and drew him pictures. So this was a great very personal gift that he really enjoyed.

  3. That is awesome – thanks for sharing!!!

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