Surprise Birthday Money

As my kids became teens they started receiving more money than gifts from friends and relatives for their birthdays. Soon they caught on to this awesome gift of money and started wanting it from us instead of gifts too. They like pooling all their birthday money together and getting something more expensive they really want. The only problem is giving money is boring. We started giving Surprise Birthday Money several years ago. Check out more fun ideas for giving money at the bottom of this post.

Zach turned 17 a few weeks ago and I had no idea how I was going to surprise him with money this year. I bought these huge number balloons then tied his favorite candy on the end of the strings to hold the balloons in place.

Of course, it wasn’t just candy. I had stashed his birthday money in each bag of candy and he had no idea until he opened them. Good thing he was in the mood for candy and opened one of the bags right away.

To make it look like the bag had never been opened I cut a slit in the bottom back of the bag and inserted the money in then taped it up. He didn’t notice the tape because it’s not something you would expect.

It was a fun surprise to put the money in both bags. He was only expecting the money he found in the first bag.

Most of the family was gone on his exact birthday so we only had a little celebration on his day and then celebrated that weekend when more family was home. He got his very own small cake since the rest of us have to eat gluten free. I don’t think he minded at all.

I realized I didn’t have the candles I needed until it was too late. The ones I had were a little too girly so I painted the trim in his favorite color and used glitter glue to fill in the center. Here’s another little trick I do: Stick a toothpick up the center of the candle and then stick it in the cake. It’s a lot more stable.

More money gift giving ideas:

Birthday Money Balloons

Straw Garland with a Surprise

Dollar Bow Garland

Money Gift Giving Ideas