When you want to give cash as a gift, there are still ways to make it special! Here are 15 ways to gift wrap money that make a fun and creative way to give cash, especially to teenagers!
15 Ways To Gift Wrap Money
We exchange money a lot at our house for the holidays. It may seem crazy but the adults and older kids are always saving for something so we would rather give them the cash to help pay for it than some trinket they won’t use.
Just because we give cash doesn’t mean that we can’t do it in a creative way. There are lots of ways to give cash and the receiver will never know it’s cash by looking at the gift.
As with all the gifts we give each other, we put some thought into it. Here are a few of the many ways we’ve given cash:
- In a piggy bank. The kids wanted a “real” piggy bank. So mom got them one and put some money in it.
- Mom made my nephew his favorite cake (Boston cream pie) for his 16th birthday and made 16 “candles” out of money. (We didn’t burn them of course! ;-)
- I gave Mike $50 for Christmas to go toward the digital camera he wanted. The catch. I gave it to him all in PENNIES!!
- Get their favorite candy, like a bag of M&M’s and make the wrapping paper out of cash! Just tape the ends of the bills together. I usually use one dollar bills. It’s always a huge hit!
- Mom found a monster faced Peep candy in a jar after Halloween for .25. My son loves Peeps. She folded the one dollar bills like a fan and taped them to the top of the head for “hair”.
- I gave Mike and my brother cash one year for their digital toys. I got a piece of plywood and made a heart of out one dollar bills for Mike and a Superman logo out of one dollar bills for my brother.
- One year for my son I taped 20 one dollar bills end to end and gently folded them into a new cat coffee mug. He loves cats and coffee! Then when he pulled it out there was a huge string of ones!
- My sister in law gave my son some of his favorite coffee creamer. She folded a $10 bill and put it into the top so when he opened the pour spout he saw a “10.”
- Treasure Hunt- We stuffed a box full of 20 one dollar bills. Then we put a clue in another small box he opened and we sent him on a treasure hunt. When he came back, the gift with the bills was wrapped and on the table ready for him to open.
- Mom found a huge clear jug and filled it with one dollar bills for our son. She put a label on the outside that said, “Millionaire Jar”.
- Mom found a new “expensive, never used money clip” for $1 at yard sale. Then she clipped some money in it and gave it to her grandson.
- Mike needed a new wallet so Mom put some money inside of it and gave it to him.
- I wrapped some Hershey’s chocolate syrup (Mike’s favorite) and put money around it to buy ice cream later because I couldn’t get it right then.
- For a 16 year old saving for a car: Get a hot wheels car and wrap it up with some money.
- Mom got my son a ledger to keep track of his money. She put one dollar bills all through out the pages.
I took walnuts, cracked them carefully, took out the nut part and folded $$ bills different denomations and put in the empty nut shell. glued them together with elmer glue. Big hit. Kid thought he was getting cheated with bag of nuts till he went to eat one.
I taped 20 one dollar bills end to end and put them in a popcorn box with tag on end to pull open. Big hit. Like never ending stream of money.
I bought a toy trailer truck with open back and filled it with quarters, nickles and dimes for grandson 6 yrs old. He could haul his stash all over.
took a stale hamburger bun and put different denominations of $$ in between the bun like lettuce. wrapped it in hamburger box like lunch for one.
My sister and I play this game almost every Christmas, we give each other money, but it’s not always easy to get to.
One year, we had gotten a new washer and dryer and still had the boxes. For weeks before Christmas, we shredded newspapers to fill up the box; we didn’t get it COMPLETELY full, but more than half. Then we put 20 $1 dollar bills inside.
The same year, my sister gave me money as well. My hunt was a bit messier. She took a tote with a lid and filled it with sand and $25! The $25 was all in coins! It was great watching each other ‘sift’ through the ‘filling’ to find the money!
Wow! Those are some COOL ideas! I just might have to use those!!! That’s great!
One year, for each of the grands I got BRAND NEW dollar bills….about 25 for each, took them to Kinko’s or any copy shop and had them “glued” along the top edge with a cardboard backing. I’d made the front covers with a Christmas greeting, TO & FROM, on the computer so all they had to do was take their booklet to the store and gently tear off how ever many $$$$ they needed for their purchase. Just make sure they are NEW BILLS…otherwise, won’t align flat enough to be stuck like a scratch pad. They were DELIGHTED ! Makes fun stocking stuffers.
Fun and clever and personalized idea. Thanks.
I did the same with a piece of cardboard on bottom and put into a checkbook cover
I saw a cardboard box, with pictures of money on it, in a catalog. It said, “MONEY MACHINE” on it, and came with removable tape. It was $6.00 plus shipping. I needed four, and thought I could make them myself, and make photocopies of dollar bills to decopage on the boxes, for a lot less! I needed four, for my four oldest grandsons, ages seven to twelve. I am taping 25 one dollar bills, end to end, and rolling them up. I’ll print out a Pull tab on my computer, and also print the money machine sign for each. They will be a lot happier with this gift than a gift card, and by making the boxes myself, I’ll save about thirty dollars.
What a cute idea Nancy. I will have to try that with my teen boys, actually I think all the grandkids would love a “money” machine.
You come up with such good ideas! Love these ideas.
I haven’t actually done this myself, but I’ve seen books and websites on how to fold money into fun origami shapes. This website even shows how to make money christmas trees.
I love the idea of sifting through sand for coins! The kids would love it because they are always on a treasure hunt for coins wherever we go.
For more of a gag gift, I bet you could suspend coins in a bowl of jello….. (not to be eaten of course).
I also give cash to my neices and nephews each year. This year I am wrapping bills in plastic wrap and sticking them in the middle of a tub of playdough with a note that says, “Here’s a little dough for you to play with.”
Last year I took 10 one dollar bills and stuffed them inside one of those clear glass ornamants used for crafting.(Purchased the year before on clearance of course!) You have to lay the money out flat, roll up very tight and put in the hole at the top. Then take an unsharpended pencil and roll it around inside the ball against the bills to make them spread out, completely covering the inside of the ornament. Then I tied a ribbon with a note that said, “We hope you have a ball spending this cash!” and hung it on the tree. Getting to the cash was half the fun! The boys just took theirs outside and stepped on it but the girls spent hours pulling their bills out one at at time.:)
We have a candy store in town that uses the same wrapping paper for all their gift boxes and everyone knows it. I had received a box of candy from my employer before Christmas and I came up with a bright idea to “recycle” that box. My husband was saving dollar coins for an upcoming hunting trip, so I went to the bank and bought some coins. I put them into the little paper candy cups in the box to distribute the weight and rewrapped the box with the famous wrapping paper. My husband thought he was getting a sweet treat, but instead he got something more useful and easier on his weight!
For one of my wedding gifts, I was given salad bowls and tongs with ‘Tossed Greens’ already in the bowl. They had taken $20 in ones and crumpled it up like lettuce.
One year for our family Christmas gift exchange, My sister froze $15 (the price cap) of coins in a large popcorn tin. We put it in one of the cheap styrofoam coolers and wrapped that up so it wouldn’t melt during dinner. Everyone was fighting over the ‘Cold Hard Cash’
I give my grandchildren money in unique ways. Hardest to find was paper money folded up & put where candy goes in a pez candy dispenser. then put back in package. another was replace ink in ballpoint pen. a couple others were replace stick of gum in package, roll around crayons & put back in box, slide folded money in end of box of candy without opening. always fun time.
Great ideas Judy. Thanks. I can use some of them because my grandkids are getting older and love to get money so I too like to give them money in unique ways.
Hi! I once bought one of those bags of chocolate money. (The chocolate coins wrapped in gold and silver foil.) It cost less than a dollar. I cut open the top, and inserted real coins — silver dollars and half dollars, and some other dollar coins I got at the bank.
I closed up the top with a fancy tie and gave it to a friend. At first, the friend didn’t realize it wasn’t chocolate — but the bag definitely felt heavy! When he looked more closely he realized it was a mix of chocolate coins and real coins. He really liked it.
One year for christmas my parents gave me and my brother a roll of toilet paper…As I unrolled the tp dollar bills started fall out. They had unrolled the tp and re rolled it with money inbside. All told I think I got 100!!! Butit was way more fun than jst the money would have been alone.
Grandpa Jerry buys stuffed animals at the dollar store. Snips open a small seam, rolls up a $50, puts it inside and sews the animal back up. Each grandchild gets one.
I buy everyday household items, tape money around the can, bottle, bottom of can, people have to look close or they might throw out their money. This is especially fun for Newlyweds, and going off to college, or for a first apartment! Put the items in a new laundry hamper!!
I have been given jewelry similar to this. One year it took me an hour of POUTING before I went back and checked every can and found my Diamond Tennis Bracelet on a can of Spinach. I HATE SPINACH, so I didn’t look close enough at the can! That will teach me!! LOL!!!
This year I am putting bills around a pizza disk inside a pizza box and labeling it something like “You have to have a little dough to buy a pizza.” Our grandsons should enjoy it.
Tape bills end to end, and roll up. Tuck inside an empty square tissue box with the first bill sticking out with a couple of tissues around it. Put a note on it that says something like “Don’t blow this all in one place.” Easy and really cute.
Their Grandparents always send my kids cash. I try to make it “special” every year by putting it in something so it isn’t lost in the gift pile. One year I put it in a frame ornament with only “Ben Franklin’s” face showing. My daughter took one look at it and said (in her best teenaged sneer), “Who is this, and why is he green?”. Her younger brother jumped up yelling, “MONEY”! One of our all-time favorite Christmas memories. I look for cute containers all year…dollar and thrift stores are a great source for creative vessels for dispensing their Christmas cash.
one year, I gave my baby brother 20.00 in cash…the catch
it was all gold dollar coins!
tape the coins to the bottom of a box, then fill the box with chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil.
he was excited he got a box of candy…..it wasn’t until two months later that he realized there was something else in the box! lol
Many years ago, I bought a loaf of bread for our dirty santa game at a party I hosted. My BFF got the bread and never swapped because she’s shy and apparently, it was her favorite style.. It was an expensive brand. I took the bread out 8 slices..and put a $20, $10, $5, $2 and $1 bill.. the last pieces went in .. filling it completely and I wrapped in a box and put in the pile. She happened to be the one that got it. No one tried to swap it with her because it was a loaf of bread. And she never gave it up anyway so it sat in her lap the entire game. When everything was done and as the hostess, I said is everyone happy with their gifts.? And everybody was like yeah I love my gifts. So I said bestie why don’t you open up your bread and see what’s inside and she started pulling each money out from a dollar to $20 and everybody was in shocked that they didn’t grab the bread. I’m always trying to find ways to put money in things so they don’t know it’s me and I always add an extra present so whomever gets the least expensive gift at the end of the game, gets the extra box. Our guys can’t be really dirty. One time, one got a can of sardines.
One year we attached dollar bills to the mid-section of a very gaudy polo shirt then wrapped it up in a shirt box. My 21-yr old nephew took one look at it, put on his best smile and said “thank you” and couldn’t put the lid back on the box fast enough! His mom (who was in on the joked) insisted he hold up his present for all to see. After shooting dagger eyes at his mom, he opened the box, held up the shirt, saw the money and decided it was the ‘best shirt ever!’
LOL that is a good one Marcia
Oh my gosh! I love ALL of these ideas and plan to use them when our grandkids get a little older. What fun times we will have. Thanks to everyone and Merry Christmas. :)
For Christmas my mother and I wet 200 dollars worth of ones, crinkled them up, put them into a pillow case, threw them into the dryer then stuffed them into a stocking for my cousin. Took him forever to use them and always got a grumpy face from cashier. Teehee
I love all these ideas. I’m always looking for new ideas to give $ as gifts I’m the fun grandma. Lol