My son went to one of his friend’s birthday parties yesterday.  He had a fun-filled afternoon go kart racing and eating pizza with some of his best friends.

When I asked his friend’s mom about gift suggestions, I did not get much to go on, so my son decided to get him a gift card to his favorite video game store.  I agreed and proceeded to ask my son a very important question…

“Do you want to make your own birthday card or give him a gift card for five dollars less?”

My son did not hesitate, “I’ll make the card!”

Unknown artist…but it’s awesome!

I watched my son take out a piece of paper from the printer, pull a Sharpie out of the drawer, and write a very simple birthday message with a strange looking face drawn on it.  Pleased with his work, my son folded it up, got an envelope and stuffed it in along with the gift card.  He licked it and wrote his friend’s name on the front…and for some reason he capitalized the first two letters and wrote the next two letters in lower case.  I have no clue why, and when asked, he did not either.

Whatever your thoughts on gift cards, we can all agree greeting cards cost way too much and most kids do not read them anyway.  So why not have your kid make a DIY card and save five bucks?  Either pocket the savings or apply it to the gift…either way, everyone is happy (except maybe Hallmark).

What low-cost or simple gift/card giving ideas work with your kids?