Ways to Give Money as a Gift

Many people choose to give money as a gift for birthdays, graduations, weddings, and even Christmas. Although the receiver is usually happy to find some cash stuffed inside the card, there are more creative ways to give money as a gift. By getting creative with how you give the money, you can be sure the receiver will appreciate the time you spent in preparing the gift and not see the monetary gift as an easy way out.

I love this idea for a Christmas or Valentine's Day gift. Whether you sneak money into the wrappers or mix real coins with chocolate coins, money and candy are always a great pairing. You can get simple tins and cute mini cupcake papers to put money in.

Just make sure you tell the person to unwrap the candy carefully, you don't want a $20 bill accidentally thrown in the garbage can!

Both kids and adults have come to love the game Angry Birds, so when I found this idea on Pinterest, I just had to try it out. Step by Step instructions can be found on the craftibilities blog. Basically all you need to do is get some green balloons, put money inside and decorate the balloons to look like the piggies from the game. Then creatively package them into a box that is decorated like a crate. When the gift is opened and the piggies are popped, there will be money instead of stars!

Origami means 'paper folding' and the Japanese are usually given credit for the technique. One of the most famous paper folds is the crane. The paper crane is used all over the world to symbolize peace. When it comes to making a crane or other items, the size of the paper matters, so just because you can make things with regular paper doesn't mean they will be as simple with money. You also want to be careful to not tear the money in the process. I recommend cutting origami paper into the same size as a dollar bill and practicing a few times before trying the folds with real money.

Once you get the hang of folding money into neat shapes, it is a great gift for graduations, weddings, and birthdays. You can fold the money and place it on a mini tree and give a money tree as a gift as well. The YouTube video below shows one way to fold money and the money butterflies would definitely look nice on a 'money tree' or hidden in a bouquet of flowers. YouTube offers many other money origami tutorials as well. From footballs to hearts, to boats, there is likely a fold out there that is just right for anyone on your gift giving list.

Nesting dolls are a great gift in general but hiding money inside of the last one is even better. You can buy them or make your own. I found plain wooden nesting dolls on Etsy.com, but some craft stores carry them as well. If you buy your own you can decorate them for the occasion (Christmas, Birthday, etc...). I printed pictures out from the computer and used modge podge to adhere it to the wood.