Money is probably my least favorite gift to give. My kids are still young and don’t ask for it yet. But, my nephews are really getting into asking for money for their birthdays to save up for something big! I love the pass the parcel game and this wrapping idea is inspired by it. There are different layers of wrapping paper with a little more money in each layer. No need to pass it around, all layers are for the birthday boy (or girl!)
Materials needed: wrapping paper (I made this one with rice paper and watercolors) or tissue paper, some twine and money!
Layering tips (from opening perspective):
Layer one and two: these are the teaser layers where you place coins, birthday card, small candy…
Layer three and four: that little something more, where you might add a small money bill
Layer five: the best for last, where the big present is hidden!
I don’t use any tape to close the layers, only twine, so nobody will accidentally tear the money bills! The more layers, the more fun! Especially for those impatient birthday people out there!
Paulette Leto
October 29, 2013
This is an interesting idea! Money gets a bad rap as the least thoughtful gift you can give – it pretty much says to people “I don’t know what would be a good gift for you, so I’m just going to give you this cash and you can get whatever you like.” And sometimes that’s true. But there are times when money really is a good gift. For example, college students can usually use the extra cash, as well as anyone who’s saving up for a big purchase that they really have their heart set on. It may be something that’s too big of a gift for you to give them all on your own, but contributing toward that gift is actually very thoughtful.
But still, if you’re going to give money as a gift, I think it’s important to dress it up a little bit, make it into a more fun gift. So I think this idea is pretty neat!
STEL STYLE
October 29, 2013
this is a great idea, I have the same problem with my family!! thanks for sharing
http://www.thestelstyle.com
rachel
October 29, 2013
so i’m a little confused, do the parcels getted stuffed inside of one another or are they tied toegther with the littlest on the top?
But then wouldn’t that me the “best” present?
yes, the parcels are inside each other. sorry that was confusing. Here a little more info on the original game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_potato_(game)
this is a spin on that game, where you don’t actually pass the parcel but you have to work your way through all the layers to get to the main present!
hope it makes more sense now.
Dana
October 29, 2013
If you have to give money, at least you can have fun with it.
When I do give cash or gift cards towards an item, I like to include a picture or note “reminding” the receiver that this money is intended for a special purpose. In the end I can’t force them to buy the big purchase, but it salves my conscience a little bit.
Jeanne
October 29, 2013
Money gets bad rep here, but it’s super popular – and almost a respect in Asian countries and culture. I wish I can give money more often to my American friends – cause yes – we do run into times when we do not know what to get and money is the safest gifts of all!
This is such a neat idea! Love it all! x Jeanne
Bambi
October 29, 2013
That’s so cute. I don’t have money to wrap, but in case I do someday, I’ll come back to this tip:-)
Love from Germany,
Bambi
http://lasagnolove.blogspot.de/2013/10/remembering-sunnier-days.html
Marifer Borbolla
October 29, 2013
I don´t like also to give money as a gift, but I think this is a pretty good idea to make it more pretty and interesting!
http://www.bazarika.wordpress.com
Rebecca
October 29, 2013
What a sweet idea.
But most of all, the patterns you painted are so so beautiful!
I usually use kraft paper and colorful stickers and tape for gift wrapping, and I love the result, but this makes me want to paint a whole roll of white paper! I might very well experiment soon…
allie @ 6000 Miles to Home
October 29, 2013
what a fun way to make the gift of money more personal and unique! I’ll definitely use this!
http://6000milestohome.blogspot.com
CMN
October 29, 2013
I’m with Rachel… the instructions were confusing! The individual parcels are darling, BUT… is the layering idea executed by putting the parcels inside each other? Or does each parcel have multiple layers of paper/tissue and money? Would be great to see how this was actually put together.
Thanks!
yes, the parcels are inside each other. sorry that was confusing. Here a little more info on the original game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_potato_(game)
this is a spin on that game, where you don’t actually pass the parcel but you have to work your way through all the layers to get to the main present!
hope it makes more sense now.
Justine Johnson
October 29, 2013
Great idea! Way better than just stashing the money in a card.
Pauline
October 29, 2013
I love this idea. It’s very simple to do but it makes the gift look so special!! Even better to me than already made wrapping paper.
Kristin
October 29, 2013
Oooh love the handmade wrapping paper. Such a great idea. I’ll have to make something like this for Christmas.
Sally
October 29, 2013
Kids LOVE getting their own money for a present. Once my sister gave our niece some money, and she packaged it up within blown-up balloons and put them all in a big box. So she had to burst each balloon to get the money! SO. MUCH. FUN. When it’s all in smaller notes and coins, it’s even more fun for them to add up and have a whole fist full of cash.
Sara : Confetti Sunshine
October 29, 2013
Such a fun way to gift money! I’ll probably be doing this at Christmas since I have plenty of people who would just prefer money.
Meredith
October 30, 2013
I love this! It doesn’t look like you are gifting money and you get to wrap it up in pretty packaging. This is going to come in handy for the new year and for my older nieces and nephews who always seem to be saving up for something.
leah
October 30, 2013
i am so doing this for my 13 year old nephew this week! my nephews and teenage siblings are always saving up for something – so even though it seems a bit thoughtless to me, it is the most useful gift for them. i like to throw in a handknit hat i made, or something small that i think they might enjoy that didn’t cost me much, but i could wrap that up in one of the larger parcels.
such a good idea!
josie
October 30, 2013
What a clever idea…I can see a lot of fun & smiles for the lucky recipient! Thanks so much for sharing ;*)
Lynne
October 31, 2013
I think the confusion is coming from the fact the the packages are numbered in the order they are UNWRAPPED.
Wrap the biggest bill first. Next two layers are smaller bills wrapped over the previous package. Keep layering until all the money is enclosed.
We’ve done similar things with boxes. Small box inside a bigger box inside a bigger box and so on. I think the best one we did ended up in a refrigerator box… :-).
Amy - The Lovely Find
November 8, 2013
Love this idea! I think I’ll use it this year instead of pretending everyone loves gift cards!