4ofus Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Hi guys ~ I know this is going to vary widely but I'd like some input anyway. We live a distance away from family, including the kids' cousins. We see them at T-giving & July 4th when we travel "home" to visit grands. I usually give them a b-day gift when I see them in the summer & a Christmas gift when I see them at T-giving. Their dad & I do not exchange gifts-we just do it for the kids. Grands/aunt (w/o children) usually come to our home for Christmas & we gift in person. This year, things are a little different. No-one will be traveling here for Christmas due to work conflicts so I've decided to have food gift baskets delivered close to Christmas for the grands/aunt. The uncle w/kids has announced his engagement to his long-term gf. They will be married in summer. She has 2 young children as well. I hesitate to buy gifts for any of the children as they grow older & especially the children of the fiance as I really don't know their interests. I think I've decided to send each of the four children a Christmas card with some cash in it. Is this too...not classy? I'm not sure what word I'm looking for. The children are all elementary age & I'm thinking receiving a thoughtful card with cash from a distant aunt/uncle/cousins would be a nice gift. Please set me straight if I'm wrong. NEXT. If this is an okay way to do this...what would be an appropriate $ amount? Usually I spend between $20-$30 per child on a gift, but there are now 2 more children. Is it okay to divide our budget & send $10/child? Or would it be more appropriate to whittle from our Christmas budget in another place to be able to send the full $20 x4. I know there are a ton of other factors that play into this decision...I'm just trying to get a general sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I'd send a card with an individual note to each child with a nice crisp $10 bill per kid. Thats a nice gift and I think that it is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I prefer not to give cash (or gift cards, because it isn't wise to send actual cash). I'd be inclined to send each child a book. Yup. A book. That you don't know their interests is irrelevant, because it's the thought that counts, right? If you have a Barnes & Noble nearby, you might be able to find something for each of them there in the price range you're looking for. Or some sort of little game or gadget in the budge section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 For my daughter's cousins, I've been giving a $10.00 gift card to the local movie theater. Just another thought if you decide not to go the cash route. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 It's not tacky for aunts and uncles to send cash tucked in a card. If you choose to send something else, call their parents and check to make sure they don't already have it. Getting books is awful for us, because we have so many books that odds are we already have whatever book they send! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I think $10 or some sort of gift card in that amount is a lovely idea, especially for elementary age children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My DD would rather get money than almost anything else, especially from people who only see her a couple of times a year and are going by what they think a generic "X yr old girl" would like, as opposed to DD, specifically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Dh has a best friend who is like an uncle to my kids. Every year, he sends me a check and asks me to buy the kids something with it, from him. Some years, I just divide the money and buy cash. Some years, I have used it for a family activity like a movie night with treats. Some years, I have bought actual presents. All have been great, well received and were appropriate for that time in the kids lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My children did not have much spending money of their own. They loved getting a little birthday or Christmas money and shopping for themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Since we'll be visiting for T-giving, if I'm prepared, I can just give the cards to the family at that time so sending cash through USPS isn't a worry. I *almost* went to the bank today & asked for crisp $10 bills :) but I started to second-guess myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Some years I just did not have time to think through what to get each niece/ nephew so I would pruchase some fun Christmas cards that hold money. If we saw them I would give gifts but otherwise it was money. My boys sometimes fotr $5 or McD gift certificates because that's all my sister could afford and my kids were happy with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Splitting the money between the cousins is wise and can encourage family gifts. We got our Wii and subscription to Netflix this way. You could send a note with a suggestion if you didn't want to just send cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Ok. Thanks for the feedback :). I'm going to include a pair of 3d Christmas glasses in each envelope as well. That gives the kiddos a little something to play with :) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009B5EEGQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p21_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=13HK4HVCWZW5HBJMF1E0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 $10 from Aunts and UNcles is perfectly fine. Sometimes my kids get more expensive gifts. But they were just as happy the year they got $5 gift cards to McDonald's and we took a family trip to spend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applethyme Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 For the nieces and nephews I don't know well I make up a family gift basket. One year it was old Disney movies and a Dominos Pizza gift card. Another year was movie tickets and little boxes of candy. I have also made a basket with different card games a some snack foods from Trader Joes. The baskets are usually $50 or less per family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I prefer not to give cash (or gift cards, because it isn't wise to send actual cash). Sending a gift card isn't any more wise than actual cash. Gift cards are cash equivalents and if stolen can generally not be replaced. That said, I've never had any trouble sending small amounts of cash in the mail. You don't want to send much that way, but the truth is most of it ends up right where it is supposed to be. Cash is a pretty common thing for aunts and uncles to send to children for a gift. My sons god parents are both the sorts to send new bills in funny cards, addressed to the child personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 new bills in funny cards, addressed to the child personally. This is what I'm thinking. I have 4 cute, different, funny cards along the lines of..."What do you get when reindeer get together?" ...."A few bucks!", a crisp new bill & some 3D Christmas glasses. Their dad is my brother. We see each other 2xs/year, at the aforementioned times :). I've asked in the past about gift suggestions....it's standard & pat, "whatever you would get your kids," or something equally neutral. Some years I choose something well-liked, some years not so much, but I always try to choose something nice :/. It's just harder without a close relationship with the kids. Children are so different from each other!! Haha! I usually do a consistently good job with the boy cousin...as I have boys! The girl cousin I'm always holding my breath & hoping she likes what we picked. And now there's 2 new little girls!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GH5JO6S/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER This is originally what I was going to send the kids. Pink ones for the girls, green one for the boy. Would this be a better choice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 heartlikealion, I'm a worrier too! I can think of all kinds of things to worry about! Haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My kids have always gotten cash in the mail from aunts and uncles. It's usually a small amount, $10 or so. Of course mail can and does get lost, but it's pretty rare, and a package can get lost too. Most kids like having a little spending money. I'd do that for kids when I didn't know what to get them. There are few things more disappointing to kids than getting a gift that is completely unsuitable. My kids used to get gifts every year from some family friends. They were always age-inappropriate toys or books (stuff for younger kids). Of course we taught them that it's the thought that counts, blah blah blah, but in the end, the kids had nothing except an obligation to write a thank you note for something that was a bit difficult to be thankful for. "Thank you for the game. It looks like fun <or might have been, 3 years ago>." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My aunt sends me checks. I wonder if those are considered the safest in the mail? Honestly, the loss of cash is limited to the cash itself. With check washing and EFT scams, a mailed check in the wrong hands can be a much bigger problem because your bank account number is right there. Don't get me wrong, I mail checks. Sometimes. But I don't think it's a really big risk to slip a small amount of cash into a card either. Most mail arrives to the intended recipient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My grandfather has six grown grandchildren, from DH and me who are approaching two decades of marriage down to my cousin who will be a newlywed in a few weeks, and so far, nine great-grandchildren, from 12 down to 1. He's pretty sharp, but he's 91 and doesn't get out a lot. What he does do is to send the kids and us checks for every birthday and every Christmas, with a handmade (via his computer) card. It's so sweet of him to remember all of us, and at Christmas, he sends each child an individual card. My kids love this, and they love having a little spending money of their own, either to save for something big and special or to buy a little something sometime during the year. So I vote that sending a card for each child and a $10 bill is a lovely and generous gesture that I expect all of them will appreciate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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