Author Topic: Wrapping Ideas for Cash or Gift Cards (Read 338 times)

STiG · « **on:** December 07, 2018, 07:56:09 am »

I just saw a video of 3 unique ways to wrap cash or gift cards.

1. Put it in a small box and then put zip ties all around it, weaving the opposite direction ones under/over the first ones put on. Trim off the ends. Have cutters handy when it is time to open it.

2. Use a plaster of paris/cement mixture and imbed the GC or cash in the middle - pour some in, put in the GC then top it up. Let it harden overnight then pop it out of the forming container. Have a hammer handy for opening.

3. Put in a small box and use small duct tape strips to wrap the heck out of it. Have an exacto knife or scissors handy.

I've done the following:

1. Rolled up bills and put them in the fingers of a pair of work gloves. Told them to try them on after they opened them.

2. Cold, hard cash - I froze some water in the bottom of a peanut butter jar, put in a layer of $2 coins, more water, freeze, another layer, repeat until full. Thought my brother was going to pee himself, he was laughing so hard when my nephews brought them up to show him what I'd done.

3. Used old umbrellas and tied bills to the spokes inside with string. When they opened them, it was raining money.

4. Bought little aluminum Christmas trees and made origami stars with $5 bills - blue, in Canada - and hung them on the tree as ornaments.

Anybody else have any good ideas?

Lynn2000 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 07, 2018, 10:45:48 am »

In my family people would always give the kids a word search or crossword puzzle book, and hidden in the pages would be cash. Not super-creative, but it becomes tradition after a while, and there's a certain amount of surprise in that you don't know how much money there will be. You have to show gratitude for the book itself, then sort of slyly glance through it looking for any "extras."

One year after Christmas I put the book itself out at work for anyone to take, and a co-worker came up to me later and was like, "I found a five dollar bill inside it!" And I was like, "Um, yeah, go ahead and keep that. It's my fault for not looking through the book better!"

STiG · « **Reply #2 on:** December 07, 2018, 10:56:23 am »

^ I like that one! I'm struggling to find gifts for a few people and if I have to resort to cash, I at least want to give it in a creative way.

Amara · « **Reply #3 on:** December 07, 2018, 12:16:57 pm »

I put a gift card in a deck of cards that had the bicycle spokes as the design ( http://theopenscroll.com/images/symbols/BicyclePlayingCardsCupid.jpg ). The gift card was an Amazon one, and my sister had asked for it in order to apply it to a bike she wanted. But I then put the deck of cards into an old helmet. So she had to search and search, with encouragement, until she found the real gift card.

For another sister, I found an attractive make-up bag, the kind you put in a purse, and wrapped the card and inserted it into that. She loved both the bag and the card.

STiG · « **Reply #4 on:** December 07, 2018, 12:23:48 pm »

I may be getting my brother's girlfriend a book for Christmas. I don't have any other ideas for her so I may just use the money idea and slip bills between the pages. If we get my Dad in on it, too, there will be quite a few bills to find in there!

Lynn2000 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 07, 2018, 01:01:17 pm »

I think it's a know-your-audience thing.

1) You don't want the more valuable part of the gift to get lost because it's been so well-hidden. Like the gift card in a deck of playing cards is such a clever idea--BUT, if it was being opened in a chaotic environment, with the kids running around screaming and multiple people opening gifts at the same time, it would be easy for the recipient to overlook the extra, valuable card or casually hand the deck to their child or something like that. This is how gift-opening always was among my extended relatives, anyway--chaos, and sometimes it was difficult enough to figure out who a gift was TO and FROM, let alone anything more complicated.

2) You don't want to make the person feel put on the spot, made fun of, or embarrassed. Like, I would be embarrassed to become the center of attention if someone gave me a gift that had to be broken open, or accessible only if you solved a puzzle or something. I might just smile, say thank you, and slip it into my purse to deal with later.

But if you know the person and the environment, it can be a lot of fun. I've always liked the idea of hanging a gift card as an ornament on the tree and making the person hunt for it. One year I bought my mom actual ornaments and put them on the tree, and she had to identify the new ones. But it was only the three of us there and I was eager (probably too eager!) to point them out when she couldn't find them.

Crispycritter · « **Reply #6 on:** December 07, 2018, 02:03:21 pm »

This reminded me of two years ago I bought a Christmas candle in a box for $2 at a thrift store. Inside was a gift card for $25. I guess they never thought to really open the candle up. And - I kept the gift card, which probably would be considered wrong by most.

Lynn2000 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 07, 2018, 02:35:14 pm »

Quote from: Crispycritter on December 07, 2018, 02:03:21 pm

This reminded me of two years ago I bought a Christmas candle in a box for $2 at a thrift store. Inside was a gift card for $25. I guess they never thought to really open the candle up. And - I kept the gift card, which probably would be considered wrong by most.

Not at all! It's just like people who see a $2 painting they like at a garage sale, buy it, get home and realize it's a lost Monet. You had no idea the gift card was in there when you bought it. What should you do--take the gift card back to the store and ask them to somehow return it to the person who donated the candle? I wouldn't even hesitate for a second over that one--there would actually be more ambiguity for me regarding the painting from the garage sale, because I would know who owned it before me.

Crispycritter · « **Reply #8 on:** December 07, 2018, 09:08:12 pm »

Quote from: Lynn2000 on December 07, 2018, 02:35:14 pm

Quote from: Crispycritter on December 07, 2018, 02:03:21 pm
This reminded me of two years ago I bought a Christmas candle in a box for $2 at a thrift store. Inside was a gift card for $25. I guess they never thought to really open the candle up. And - I kept the gift card, which probably would be considered wrong by most.

Not at all! It's just like people who see a $2 painting they like at a garage sale, buy it, get home and realize it's a lost Monet. You had no idea the gift card was in there when you bought it. What should you do--take the gift card back to the store and ask them to somehow return it to the person who donated the candle? I wouldn't even hesitate for a second over that one--there would actually be more ambiguity for me regarding the painting from the garage sale, because I would know who owned it before me.

Just imagine someday reading an ettiquette column where the person got a secret santa gift that was supposed to be $30 or so and instead only got a $10 candle. Or - sending a thank you note for the lovely candle, and getting asked if the gift card was to the right store!! Whether you regift or donate - always at least open the gift?

Lynn2000 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 08, 2018, 11:55:05 am »

Quote from: Crispycritter on December 07, 2018, 09:08:12 pm

Just imagine someday reading an ettiquette column where the person got a secret santa gift that was supposed to be $30 or so and instead only got a $10 candle. Or - sending a thank you note for the lovely candle, and getting asked if the gift card was to the right store!! Whether you regift or donate - always at least open the gift?

Exactly! Very good points! That goes back to my "know your audience" comment. It can bring a lot of fun to the event to be clever in gift-giving, but if you are TOO clever you risk the recipient missing the joke/point.

Lula · « **Reply #10 on:** December 09, 2018, 07:45:37 am »

I'm all about prank gift card holders.

Amara · « **Reply #11 on:** December 09, 2018, 02:13:42 pm »

What are those?

guest277 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 10, 2018, 10:46:53 am »

I once had a gift card box that was a maze. The person had to figure out how to get it open before they got the card, which they could see. This year I found some tiny bags that look like gift bags. They're just the right size for a gift card in the cardboard holder they come bound in.

STiG · « **Reply #13 on:** December 10, 2018, 11:02:24 am »

I've heard about those puzzle boxes but I haven't been able to find them. I'll have to look online for a future occasion - I doubt I'd get them in time for Christmas now, with the postal issues we're having up here right now.

corgiqueen · « **Reply #14 on:** December 27, 2018, 12:26:19 pm »

Quote from: Crispycritter on December 07, 2018, 09:08:12 pm

Quote from: Lynn2000 on December 07, 2018, 02:35:14 pm
Quote from: Crispycritter on December 07, 2018, 02:03:21 pm
This reminded me of two years ago I bought a Christmas candle in a box for $2 at a thrift store. Inside was a gift card for $25. I guess they never thought to really open the candle up. And - I kept the gift card, which probably would be considered wrong by most.

Not at all! It's just like people who see a $2 painting they like at a garage sale, buy it, get home and realize it's a lost Monet. You had no idea the gift card was in there when you bought it. What should you do--take the gift card back to the store and ask them to somehow return it to the person who donated the candle? I wouldn't even hesitate for a second over that one--there would actually be more ambiguity for me regarding the painting from the garage sale, because I would know who owned it before me.

Just imagine someday reading an ettiquette column where the person got a secret santa gift that was supposed to be $30 or so and instead only got a $10 candle. Or - sending a thank you note for the lovely candle, and getting asked if the gift card was to the right store!! Whether you regift or donate - always at least open the gift?

Hahaha. I almost did this to myself, but trashing it. My BFF, my mom (her mom #2) and I exchange gifts. Mine was a really cute glass votive holder, a fishbowl, wrapped in tissue, in a box. with a note. Ok fine. so i take it out and look. Its cute! Then later on, i was taking out the tissue, and a $10 gc fell out, it had slipped down under the tissue!

But i also look at stuff I regift. Just to be sure there isn't a note or anything on it that might give away the fact its a regift.

Polite Paradise

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Author Topic: Wrapping Ideas for Cash or Gift Cards (Read 338 times)

STiG

Wrapping Ideas for Cash or Gift Cards

Lynn2000

Re: Wrapping Ideas for Cash or Gift Cards

STiG

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Amara

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STiG

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Lynn2000

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Crispycritter

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Lynn2000

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Crispycritter

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Lynn2000

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Lula

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Amara

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guest277

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STiG

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corgiqueen

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