Quick and Easy Christmas Gift for Kids

The best Christmas gifts I ever gave didn’t require a lot of money… just a great idea and some creativity!

Christmas 2008:  I was three months away from being 25, had just lost my job (thank you, Great Recession) and was feeling pretty “lost” in regards to my future.

One thing was for sure, I wanted to make sure I still gave each of my nephews a really great Christmas present. But, what is a broke Auntie to do? Get creative, of course.

Transformers and Disney’s “Cars” were the boys favorite movies so I bought each of them a little wallet – you know, the kind with the screen-printed front and the velcro closure.

I printed a wallet-sized photo of each of them on my printer at home to fit inside the small plastic ID slot and then filled the wallet with 10, one-dollar bills. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.

They. Freaked. Out.

“Look at all the money I have!”
“Auntie, I am rich!”
“Is this a real driver’s license?!?”

Seeing them so excited over a $3 wallet and $10 cash was the cutest thing ever and it sure made my Auntie-heart happy.

Elijah still reminds me of the Christmas where I gave him “soooo much money.”

Now that the boys are older, I doubt I could get away with the same quantity of cash (they are dreaming of iphones and Amazon gift cards) but six years ago, when they were in elementary school, I was the best Auntie ever!

Well, my niece is five year old and I decided to try the same gift idea for her this year. I purchased a “Frozen” Elsa wallet from eBay ($2, holla!) and it was delivered in 10 days – not too shabby since it came from halfway across the world. Also, you can’t go wrong with Frozen merchandise, right? – Way to ride that wave for a whole year, Disney. Bravo!

I printed a photo of my niece with her name and age on it and slipped it into the plastic slot in the center of the wallet to serve as her “ID card.”

Then I placed 10, one-dollar bills in the main section and a couple quarters in the coin pocket.

It may not be a lot of money, but to a child, it looks like a fortune! I can’t wait to see her open it on Christmas morning. – I am sure she will have no problem thinking of something to spend her money on.

Easy, inexpensive and hug-inducing. Now that is my kind of present!

Do you have any go-to gifts that everyone loves?

This post is not sponsored, but it does contain some affiliate links which result in an affiliate commission. All thoughts are completely my own, as I only recommend items I personally love.