Money-themed Christmas gifts

Forget parcels under the tree this year, two thirds of us plan to give a financial gift to our loved ones this Christmas with most of us opting for cash, according to AJ Bell.

Financial gifts are easy, practical and are better for the environment. They can also pay off in the long run, for example, teaching the lucky recipient about money or even making a loved one a millionaire! 

There are a number of things to consider first. In this article, we cover:

• What can I get a young child?
• What are the best financial gifts for teens?
• How can I teach kids about money?
• Are their fun ways to gift money-related presents?
• What investment gifts should I consider?

Gifts for kids

It is never too early to get children engaged with finances. If you are giving gifts for young children, there are a number of different options that you could go for.

1. Piggy Bank – You can’t go wrong with a piggy bank, which helps teach children about the concept of saving. You can use it to encourage your child to save for a specific item or toy, or just generally get in the habit. A clear piggy bank will enable them to see their money grow before their eyes.
2. Financial Games – To teach young children about budgeting and spending, Money Match Cafe is a fun role-play game aimed at 5 to 8-year-olds. For children aged 8+, Game of Life, is a classic where the player with the most money in retirement wins.
3. Books – Grandpa’s Fortune Fables by Will Rainey, founder of financial education website Bluetree Savings, is a great book that teaches children the difference between being ‘rich’ and ‘wealthy’ and why gambling should be avoided.

Gifts for teens

1. Bank cards – A more grown-up version of the piggy bank could be to give your teenager their own bank card. Apps including GoHenry, Natwest Rooster Money and Nimbl offer pre-paid debit cards, where parents can top up the card and manage the account through the app.
2. Games – Old-school board games like Monopoly have been giving children crash courses in finance for generations. The Cashflow board game encourages you to play your way out of a 9-to-5 lifestyle by acquiring property, stocks, businesses and precious metals. It simulates real life, having you play against the housing market and the stock market.

Gifts for adults

1. Money Books – There are books out there for every financial goal, whether it’s a desire to retire early, to start conversations about money with family members, or just to understand personal finance better. 
   • Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living, by Elizabeth Willard Thames, is a memoir for anyone who dreams of quitting their 9-to-5 to lead a simpler life.
   • Author Clare Seal describes her own painful struggle with debt in her book Real Life Money and sets out a path for anyone wanting to get a handle on their finances.
   • There’s even a celebrity self-help memoir, Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, by 50 Cent – in which the rapper and actor explains his rise from tragic circumstances to being the highest-paid executive on cable television in the US.
2. Bottles of wine – A bottle of wine is already a great gift to give someone but did you know that wine is an alternative asset that has a lot of appeal from an investing point of view? Anthony Maxwell, director of Liv-ex, recommends reputable merchants such as Farr Vintners, Goedhuis or Berry Bros & Rudd. Find out more: ‘I made £500,000 from investing in wine over 25 years’
3. Art – While there is no guarantee your choice of artwork will go up in value, as long as it’s to the taste of the recipient, it can at least be enjoyed and appreciated. There are several platforms to help people own a piece of the art market. The Affordable Art Fair was one of the first events to make investing in art more accessible. Other platforms include Saatchi Art and Artfinder, which sell works by emerging artists easily found using ‘less than £500 and ‘less than £1000’ in the search function. Online art portal 20×200 showcases a mixture of emerging and established artists.

Investment gifts for all

1. Buy Premium Bonds – Premium Bonds may be a good alternative to giving a cheque to pay into a savings account, given interest rates are so low. They’re a risk-free option, as even if the Bond-holder doesn’t win anything, they can cash them in at any time – and the bonds are backed by the government. 
2. Buying stock – You could gift someone shares in a company that they like or have an affiliation with. The downside is that the process can be fairly complex. You would likely have to buy the shares yourself through an online broker and transfer ownership at a later date. You may be able to purchase a token paper certificate, via your broker, that you could give as gift – and transfer the shares online.

Find out more: How to buy shares

Support small local businesses

Buying a voucher for a local business – be it a beauty salon, book shop or florist – means you can support small local businesses as well as allowing the recipient to choose what they want to buy and when.

It’s always worth using when the intended recipient is a tricky person to buy for. Some small firms may not offer vouchers directly.

Forlocal allows you to buy vouchers for a favourite local business, pledge support to a business when it reopens, and even give a voucher as a gift to an NHS worker.

Simply put in the postcode of the area to see your options. It also promises to refund you if the business closes before the voucher is used. 

Find out more: How to save money by going green

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