A creative way to give money as a gift for a child

Last weekend my youngest was invited to a birthday party. This was kind of special because it was the first party she was invited to without her big sister. As part of the information on the invite, we were asked NOT to buy the birthday girl a gift but rather give her a "twoonie" and another "twoonie" towards a charity of her choosing. What? No toy-of-the-minute to wrap? How do you give a twoonie as a gift?

I loved the idea of this birthday girl getting to pick out her own special toy with the money she would get from everyone. I especially loved the idea of this little girl looking forward to donating money to a charity special to her. It's a fantastic gift idea that goes a long way and is appreciated so much more than most gifts.

I still wanted her money gift to be special so we used it to make a little stick puppet. I folded a five dollar bill into an origami shirt and then I added paper accordion legs and arms. I printed off a small photo of my daughter and cut a long neck tab that I used to insert into the shirt collar. Finished off with paper hands and shoes, we secured the collaged body onto a chopstick. My daughter thought she looked hilarious as a bouncy legged puppet.

Now how is that for a fun and personable, inexpensive and meaningful gift?