10 creative ways to give cash

A gift bag with a slit cut in the side to conceal a money-pull gift feature, where the recipient pulls out a mini card attached to a s

Whether it’s for a birthday, graduation, Christmas or just because you love them and think they deserve a special treat, gifting someone cash is never a bad idea. But sometimes, you want to make it a little more exciting than just handing over a wad of bills. 

That’s why we came up with these fun, creative ways to give cash to make the experience more meaningful for both parties!

Inspired? Create and share by tagging @HallmarkStores.

1. With my compliments  

Cut sheets of blank paper into dollar bill-sized pieces. On each one, write something you love about that person. The messages can be meaningful (“You have such a kind heart”), lighthearted (“You’re the funniest person I know!”) or a mix!

Roll those into scrolls and tie them with pieces of thin ribbon. Then do the same with a bunch of dollar bills. Put them in a jar or some other clear container for a gift that will never be forgotten.

2. The art of money  

Feeling crafty? Transform your money into a proud peacock or a new-job shirt and tie. If you haven’t done origami before, though, you might want to practice with $1 bills before trying it with a twenty.

3. Birthday bills  

Five dollar bills are tightly rolled up individually and tied with small pieces of string, then attached to a card depicting a cake and candles so that the rolled up bills look like candles. The card sits on top of a gift wrapped with black and white graphic wrapping paper and tied with a pink felt ribbon.

Help them make a birthday wish with this special set of money candles! First, roll dollar bills into scrolls so they look like birthday candles.

Then, tape them to the front of a birthday card, either sitting on top of a cake or solo. Add paper “flames” to really complete the look and you’ll be all set.

4. Money and memories  

Buy a cute photo album or scrapbook and fill it with photos of you and the recipient. In a few spots throughout the book, tuck in a folded bill instead of a picture.

5. Money pull  

If there’s one way to wow your recipient, it’s with this over-the-top money pull. See how we made it below!

Materials needed to create a gift back money pull include a gift bag, tissue paper, craft mat and craft knife, tape, a ruler, a mini card with envelope, and a stack of dollar bills in the denomination and amount of your choice.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

A woman's hands are shown taping the short ends of one dollar bills together into a long strand.

Start by taping the short ends of your cash together to create a string of bills. Fill out your card, seal it in the envelope and add a greeting to the recipient on the front. 

A woman's hands roll up a strand of dollar bills taped together and attached to a mini card envelope.

Next, tape the sealed envelope to the end of the dollar bills and roll up your string of cash.

A woman's hands cut a slit into the side of a gift bag using a craft knife, with a ruler as a guide; a small craft mat has been inserted into the bag to keep the knife from cutting through both sides of the gift bag.

Using the craft knife and ruler, create a slit in the front of the gift bag that matches the width of the mini card envelope. To make sure the craft knife doesn’t cut through the entire gift bag, we slid in a small cutting mat underneath. You could also use a small piece of cardboard.

A woman's hands feed the mini card envelope, which has the word

Place your roll of bills into the gift bag and slide the card through the slit. Now, when the recipient pulls the card out, they’ll be pleasantly surprised with all that good cash!

A woman places tissue paper into a gift bag to conceal the rolled up strand of money that's attached to the mini card envelope sticking out of a slit on the side of the gift bag.

Don’t forget to add tissue paper to make it pretty, and you’re done!

6. Colorful cash  

If they love to color, buy them some new crayons and markers—then wrap each individual crayon or marker in $1 bills. For an extra artsy touch, gift them in a pretty zippered pouch that they can carry on the go. 

7. DIY money lei  

In Hawaii, people give leis to celebrate lots of different occasions! Get step-by-step instructions for making one (and adding personal touches they’ll love) here. 

8. Pop the confetti  

Clear DIY confetti party poppers filled with confetti and rolled up dollar bills are spilling out onto a bright yellow surface.

Bring the party to them by adding colorful tissue paper and cash to confetti poppers. Here’s a tutorial on how to make tissue paper confetti. It’s so light and airy and flutters beautifully!

9. Sweet stacks  

This one’s perfect for people with a sweet tooth! Place an empty toilet paper roll inside a mason jar, put the money inside the toilet paper roll and fill the jar outside the roll with their favorite candy. Then, let them know there’s a surprise inside and to get snackin’!

10. Balloon bonanza  

How do you make balloons even more fun? By adding cash inside of them!

Fill a box with cash-filled balloons, and add a card on the flap that instructs your recipient to pop each one to see what’s inside. Just make sure they aren’t sensitive to noise before trying this one!

11. A framed fortune  

Give them a 2-in-1 gift by putting the cash in a decorative picture frame or photo frame ornament. Some of our favorite occasions to gift a new frame ornament include:

12. Flowers for you  

A woman's hand reaches into frame with a bouquet of flowers; multiple flower heads are wrapped in five and ten dollar bills.

Make them a money bouquet mixed with flowers or candy. To plus it up, place it in a gift bag with mini cards inside or wrap it in tissue paper and ribbon.

13. Bills for book lovers  

Buy a book on their wish list (so you know they’ll read it) and hide cash somewhere inside of it as a bookmark. You could even hide bills between multiple pages to up the suspense!

14. Gaga for gift cards  

If sending a gift card is more your style, check out this DIY gift card holder to jazz it up a little.

This example is graduation-themed, but you can make it your own and decorate based on the sending occasion.  

15. Bills, bills and dollar bows  

A woman's hand reaches into frame to adjust a dollar bill that's been folded accordian style and wrapped with another dollar bill to look like a bow tie. The cash bow tie sits atop a gift wrapped in light blue wrapping paper.

Impress them with your fabulous origami skills (or just add a cool gift topper) with this bow made of cash: Take one bill and accordion-fold it the long way, then wrap it with another bill that’s been folded the long way into a strip. Use tape to secure the middle. Done!

With all these creative ways to give cash, you’ll never have to hand over a dull bill again. We’d even bet money on it (just kidding). 

 

Want even more fun gifting ideas? Check some of these out: