A Penny For Your Thoughts… A Dollar For Your Age

My Mom started a birthday tradition in our family of giving us kids a dollar for every year we were old. Six years old… six dollars. Seventeen years old… 17 bucks. Thirty-Nine years old… 39 smackers. It wasn't our main gift, more of a token really than anything. We always had a bit of a laugh over it, but it's one of those sweet little things that we always look forward to and remember fondly.  

Another year, another dollar

Nowadays it comes in the form of a check, but when we were younger, Mom would get creative and do things like use all quarters and tape them together into a long garland. Fun stuff like that. If Mom had known about "money-gami" or "dollar-gami" (origami with dollar bills), she would have totally gotten into it. I have recently mastered the "Shirt & Tie" fold which is on the um... simpler end of the difficulty range. In other words, it's completely do-able.

If it doesn't fit, they can always ex-change it

So next time you forget to buy a gift for someone, or can't figure out what to get them and think that giving money is the best idea (it could happen)… do something creative with it like fold it into a shirt, or a ring, a butterfly… or even a viking helmet. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "folding money"!

• I found the easy to follow "Shirt & Tie" instructions here.
• There are even more amazing dollar folding ideas here.

Notes: If you have the time, ironing your bills (no steam!) before folding helps to crisp them up and the finished product will look that much better. A bone-folder is great for getting sharp folds, but the side of a pen or butter-knife will work also.