No matter your cultural or religious background, there’s a pretty good chance that you have to dig into your budget and supply gifts for someone at some point every year – often multiple times per year. Many of us have a go-to gift shop, and even a gift bin hidden under the bed that gets refilled every time you come across a good sale.
As time goes by, you visit your loved ones and see your gift sitting out, getting dusty – or you never hear about it again. And that gift bin starts to bulge because the items you thought would be perfect when the time came fell short and you bought something else instead.
And this is one of the main reasons why giving money and gift cards are fabulous ideas!
The other reason is that, with these misnomered “impersonal” gifts, you’re also providing something that is dear to everyone: time. Maybe it’s your time, because you’ve purchased an experience like a movie date or theatre tickets. Maybe it’s their time, and your gift allows them to spend their own money to put gas in their car to get to work on this month. That candle 
really isn’t doing anyone any favours, but money? Is really appreciated!
For your own children, and even your nieces and nephews, the truth is that they want money more than anything else. Money provides them with independence. With independence comes some very important life lessons, like budgeting, saving for something you really want, and the overall value of a dollar. If you just buy them what they want, they have little concept for the actual cost. If they’re very young, now is a great time to help them open a bank account, too, to save that money in – even if it’s only $20 on their birthday.
Other family members, and friends, love money, too! Make it fun by assigning it to something specific: Spend unwisely in Costa Rica! Wedding Shoe Fund! Cooking Lessons Tuition! Start-of-Summer Mani-Pedi! Give them permission to do something fun with your money and enable them to be responsible with their own.
Gift cards are also great fun, and still provide the same lessons for young ones – especially once they get down to the end of the gift card amount and have to cover additional costs themselves. For your adult friends and family giftees, pick up a card at for their favourite store – clothing especially for new parents, as they tend to spend on their children before themselves. Thrift store gift cards are the best for the environment, as well as the thrill of the treasure hunt! Grocery store gift cards come in handy, particularly around holidays. And you’d be surprised how thrilled couples are to get movie ticket gift certificates, with popcorn!
The truth is that you never know who in your life really just needs a new coat, or help with the grocery bill, who really can’t afford to take their kids to the movies, and who just needs an excuse to spend some money taking care of their personal needs. So go ahead and gift the gift of cash.
Throw the most memorable party this year by inviting Henna4You! You’ll provide your guests with a takeaway they’ll talk about for years to come. Book an artist for your party, corporate event, community festival, or birthday party today!
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