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I used to give my nephew $1 for every year he was, but did it in a creative way. One year I gutted an egg by poking holes in each end, blowing out the insides, soaking it in bleach and put the money in it, spackled it shut, sanded it and spray painted it gold. He thought it was cool and wanted to keep it. His mother had to coax him to open it.
On his 13th birthday, I can't remember why, but all I had in my wallet was change. I found a gold open clasp fortune cookie people put engagement rings in on ebay. I filled it with 13 dimes and got a Chinese carton of fortune cookies and put that in the box with them. Then I printed off all the signs of the Chinese zodiac and a list of what family member was what. I also gave him instructions to make a wish in a fountain with the dimes.
He and his dad had a father son day and my brother took him to where he went to college and they stopped at different fountains around the city and took pictures of him tossing the dimes. My sister in law said they had the best day together that day.
I would say it depends on how close you are to the teen. I would go with the $20 bill in a nice card. Cash would be my preference so they could get what ever they wanted.
One caution about cash - I wanted to send cash to a nephew and was advised to send a gift card instead. The parents were afraid he'd spend it on drugs. Of course that won't be an issue for all kids, just another factor to think about.
We have 10 nieces & nephews between my side & my husbands'. We give $25 either in a gift card or a gift... We are having a hard time knowing when to stop the birthday gifts, as some of our neices & nephews are college graduates and working now...
Or do you still give?
We have 10 nieces & nephews between my side & my husbands'. We give $25 either in a gift card or a gift... We are having a hard time knowing when to stop the birthday gifts, as some of our neices & nephews are college graduates and working now...
Or do you still give?
Most of my friends, who give annual birthday gifts to nieces and nephews, have a set pattern, some give gifts until they graduate from HS, and another does it until they graduate from college or turn 22. Whatever pattern works well for you would be good. You could even just choose another date such as age 15 or 25. And many friends do not give annual gifts to their nieces & nephews.
Whatever you decide to do partly depends on your particular financial situation. You may even be retired and on a fixed income before some nieces and nephews graduate HS or college. My nephew, an engineer, made more money his first year out of college than I was making as a teacher with a masters degree and 25 years of experience. It would have been very strange for me to give him a gift of money for his birthday when he was single & in his early 20s,and his income was more than my income in my 50s while I supported my whole family.
Last edited by germaine2626; 01-26-2014 at 10:35 PM..
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