Trivia-Themed Money Gift Using Printable Gift Card

Today is my nephew Timothy's 24th birthday (!) so that means it's time to share my latest money gift idea. It is essentially a trivia challenge that starts with a printable gift card. It took me about 40 minutes to make, but you can spend more or less time depending on how much you want to challenge your recipient. It's a great option for someone who lives far away, as there are no shipping costs and no mailing time required. 

This is what Timothy received via email: 

He has already solved it and redeemed his gift card, so if you feel like figuring out the answer, go for it. The answer is below, so if you do want to solve it, do it before reading on. The full answer is at the bottom of the post. 

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Trivia-Themed Money Gift Using Printable Gift Card

Start by buying a printable gift card, sent to your own email address. I used Amazon, but any gift card that you can redeem online will work. Do not buy an eGift card. Those come with a link, not a code. 

Within a few minutes, you'll receive your card. You don't need to print it. Just pay attention to the code. For Amazon, the format is XXXX-XXXXXX-XXXX. 

Now it's time to get started. Open up a new document. Take a screenshot of the printable gift card so that your recipient knows where to redeem it (see the Amazon smile below the 'Happy Birthday' graphic?) and put the image at the top of the document. Then type the instructions, then spaces and hyphens to match the format of the gift code. Now you're ready to write the questions. 

The first 2 digits of Timothy's code were G8, so I typed "What is G8" into Google to see what came up. First was a Wikipedia article about the Group of 8 (G8) and next was an article about the Pontiac G8. Timothy is very interested in geography, so the first topic was a great choice for him. I read the article and carefully constructed a question that could only be answered with the letter-number combination of G8. 

You don't need to give clues in 2-digit sections like I did, nor do your clues need to be so challenging. For a young child, I might give the following clues to generate the same answer, G8:

                    1. What is the 7th letter of the alphabet?

                    2. How many sides does an octagon have?

You could use math equations, state abbreviations, sports players' jersey numbers, or literally anything else when designing your questions. Just be sure that there is only one possible answer. I had to be very careful how I wrote question 5-6 since there are multiple events in the Olympics with a letter-number name.  

Speaking of K4, I was really frustrated that the code had K4 twice. It was hard enough writing one question for that particular combination! But the next pair, KM, couldn't be easier. If you have two letters in a row, that's the perfect chance to ask a question about a famous person with those initials. 

I was hoping that UM or AW were chemical symbols that I'd forgotten about since that would have been a fun clue, but alas, no. I think my question for UM is the weakest of the bunch. I do like the one I came up with for AW though, since it fits in with Timothy's interest in geography and travel. 

Happy birthday, Timothy! Two more months to figure out a money gift for Christmas. Yikes. 

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Answer: G8C3-K4K4KM-UMAW

Rebus Treasure Hunt Money Gift

As you know, I've been thinking up creative ways to give money as a gift to my nephew Timothy for the last decade or so. He got potholders and a dishtowel (with hidden money inside) for his birthday in October; for his Christmas gift, I took advantage of the fact that I'd be seeing him in person and sent him on a treasure hunt using rebuses. 

At home, I designed and printed the rebuses. I set the first one aside, then put the rest into envelopes with increasing amounts of cash. When we got to my sister's house, Trevor and I snuck around hiding the envelopes in their appropriate places. Then we presented Timothy with the first clue:

He solved it fairly quickly and headed to the kitchen, where he found this: 

It took a bit longer for him to find this one. He had no idea we'd snuck outside to hide the next envelope!

He got help from my mom and sister for this one. It cracked us up hearing them all say, "Ove-chicken" repeatedly. 

After solving that clue, he found the final envelope, which just held cash. The gift was a hit!

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Need the answers? 

• To get your money open microwave.
• Look under doormat.
• Go to oven.
• Check near holiday tree.

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Creative gifts are great, but if you don't have the time or energy to make your own, there are some fun hidden money gift ideas for sale on Amazon. This is an affiliate link; thank you for supporting My Creative Life!

Family Fun in Boise, Idaho

Trevor and I just got home from a 6-day trip to visit my family near Boise, Idaho. (Steve stayed home, working and taking care of Brayden.) We had a great time. 

Trevor and I had already been to Boise four times (in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2021), so we'd visited many of the area's best museums and other attractions already. For this trip, we spent most of our time playing board games, solving puzzles, and hanging around the house with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece. 

I visited my parents' church for the first time on Sunday, then returned on Monday and Wednesday to the church's Food Bank, where my mom volunteers. I spent five hours boxing up produce, bread, and desserts to bring out to our guests. It was snowing on Wednesday as I carried boxes out to their cars, which was quite a novelty for me! I was too busy to take photos until near the end of the shift. Here's my station when we were down to the last few items. Those shelves were overflowing when I started. It's a great feeling giving food to people who need it. 

Each evening, Kari, Trevor, and I worked on a MouseAdventure in a Box, eventually completing Box 3, 4, 5, and 6. Some challenges were harder than others, but so much fun. If you love Disney, doing research, and solving extremely difficult puzzles, you'll enjoy it as much as we did. 

One afternoon, I taught Allison how to make cat-shaped candy in the mold I got her for Christmas. 

On a typical deRosier trip, we visit multiple museums and attractions each day. On this vacation, we only went to one: the World Center for Birds of Prey. 

We'd visited it back in 2015, but it has grown significantly since then. So has Trevor! He barely remembered having been there before. 

We had a great visit. We loved learning all about the aplomado falcon and the other resident raptors, including the harpy eagle, Panama's national bird. I don't think I've seen one in person before - they're huge! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the harpy eagle, but a resident vulture did a great job posing for me. 

    

  

A major part of the work of The Peregrine Fund involves reestablishing California Condors in the wild. The current world population is approximately 400 condors, up from 22 individuals in the 1980's. They've been breeding condors since 1993 and have played a critical role in preventing their extinction. 

If you haven't been to the World Center for Birds of Prey, or if it's been awhile, I highly recommend a visit. 

So what else did we do during our visit? We ate. I was thrilled to return to Coned. It was just as good as I remembered. 

  

We enjoyed lunch at Mongolian of Eagle, had delicious pizza from Flying Pie (they're Whirled Famous), and got finger steaks, chicken rings, cheese curds, and the best-ever milkshakes from regional chain Arctic Circle. 

I never would have ordered finger steaks had I not seen this banner in the airport. When in Idaho, do as the Idahoans do! 

My sister took us through the drive-thru of not one but TWO specialty soda shops, Sodalicious and Fiiz. Both were tasty. 

  

There's one more thing we did during our time in Idaho and that's give my nephew Timothy his latest money gift. I'll tell you about that tomorrow. 

Potholders and Dishtowel Hidden Money Gift

My nephew turned 23 yesterday. I have been giving Timothy hidden money for every gift-giving occasion since he was 13. Almost all of the 37 money gift tutorials I have on my blog were for him. It is getting increasingly difficult to come up with an idea that is both new and able to be mailed out of state, but I enjoy the challenge. 

For his 23rd birthday, I gave him two homemade potholders and a dishtowel. 

Making the potholders was a major blast from the past. I was obsessed with my potholder maker as a kid in the 1970's. Getting a fresh bag of loops was the best! I still have my red metal 1970's potholder maker (affiliate links here and below); at some point I got a plastic one (which they sell in a variety of sizes). Some have instructions to make other things, like this awesome pineapple. Seven-year-old Cindy would have circled that in the Sears catalog for sure! Fifty-one-year-old Cindy *might* buy some yellow and green loops and do some experimenting. 

Speaking of experimenting, I had no idea if hiding money in a homemade potholder was even possible. 

I added loops in one direction, folded a dollar bill so it was really skinny, and wove it into the potholder. So far, so good.  

I wove in more loops, then realized I needed a loop where the money was or I wouldn't be able to bind off properly. So I added a white loop over the dollar bill. 

I was pleased with how hidden the money was when I finished. You can see it, but barely. It was more visible on the backside, but not bad. Time to bind off!

Uh oh. 

Darn it. I forgot how much smaller the finished potholders are than the loom. 

Fortunately, I was able to fold the ends over and weave them back in. This is the back (worse) side.... which isn't bad at all. You can see the money, but wouldn't necessarily notice it at first glance. 

For the second potholder, I started by folding the money smaller, plus I folded it so that the green portion was hidden and only the plain edge of the bill (this one's a $5) showed. 

The results were even better than the first one. Time for the dishtowel! I started with a purchased cotton dishtowel, then carefully opened up 1/2" of one of the hems. I folded the $10 and $20 bills up and slid them through the hole, one at a time, in opposite directions. 

Once I re-sewed the hem, you had to look really carefully to see that it was ever opened. The money was not visible at all (but you could feel it). If Timothy didn't know that I always hide money in his gifts, I don't think he would have even noticed it there. Even with the arrows pointing to the four hidden bills, it's pretty well disguised. 

Happy birthday to Timothy! Now I have about six weeks to figure out another money gift to give him for Christmas.

Hidden Money Gift: Necklace and Earring Set

For Christmas, I made this necklace and earring set for my 22-year old nephew, Timothy. 

I haven't seen him for a couple of years, but as far as I know, he doesn't wear necklaces or earrings. In fact, I fully expected him to completely destroy this gift within 30 seconds of opening it. Why? Because he knows that every gift from me has hidden money inside. This one has 8 bills of varying denominations. Affiliate links below. 

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Hidden Money Gift: Necklace and Earring Set

Materials:

• unfinished wooden beads (1 large, 6 small)
• Folk Art acrylic paint
• Folk Art Extreme Glitter
• money (8 paper bills)
• patterned paper
• craft glue
• necklace chain
• earring hooks (2)
• eye pins (2)
• jump rings (2+)
• jewelry tool kit

Steps: 

Paint the beads with acrylic paint. When the paint is dry, add Extreme Glitter. I found that putting the beads on a skewer and propping that up on paint bottles was the easiest way to paint them. 

Choose a patterned paper that coordinates with your beads. Cut 8 strips of paper, each slightly bigger than 3/4" wide by around 3" long. 

Working with one bill at a time, fold the bill lengthwise into thirds, creasing the fold well. Roll it into a tight bead. Wrap the patterned paper around it, adding glue only to the area where the paper overlaps itself. Don't get any glue on the money! Repeat for all 8 bills. 

In this picture, you can see the steps of prepping the money. The third bill is loose because I let go of it for the photo; you'll actually want it to be as tight as possible, as you can see with the finished bead on the right. 

Here's a look at a finished bead. 

To make the earrings, thread a bead onto an eye pin, then curl up the end to secure the bead in place. Use a jump ring to attach it to the earring hook. 

To make the necklace, arrange six paper beads (hidden money) and seven wooden beads in order. String them onto the necklace chain. Depending on the necklace and the beads, you may need to temporarily remove the clasp of the chain (if it's wider than the gap in the beads) and/or use a yarn needle to thread the beads. 

This is what the finished jewelry set looks like. 

Package your gift in an elegant jewelry gift box for an extra fun touch. Then wait and see how long it takes your recipient to notice that the necklace and earrings aren't actually the gift they think they are!

My sister sent me this photo of Timothy modeling his new jewelry (pre-destruction). I love it. 

Browse through the dozens of ideas for money gifts I've given to Timothy and others over the years. I love looking back at them. 

Wanted Poster Hidden Money Gift

My nephew, Timothy, just turned 22 (!). As always, I came up with a creative money gift for him. This year's is based on a wanted poster. It offers a $36 reward for finding 'The DC Gang.' 

I started by taking the same portraits I used for last year's Presidential Trading Cards and converting them to sepia. I arranged them on a blank document and added the text above and below. I printed the poster onto cream copy paper (affiliate link here and below). 

The next step was hiding the four members of The DC Gang. I took the two most recent issues of Scout Life magazine and looked for places where I could attach a bill and have it look like the portrait connected to the body in the magazine. I attached each bill with Micro Glue Dots, then gave the magazines a good shake to make sure they were firmly attached. 

Then I wrote a note with information about where the gang members were last spotted. They corresponded to the places in the magazine where the bill was hidden. For example, this photo of Andrew Jackson shows him rock climbing in Palo Duro Canyon. George Washington (above) is playing football in Los Angeles.

Happy birthday, Timothy!