Near… far… wherever they are… some kids are just a little bit tricky to shop for.
Maybe he’s a newborn. You could do a teddy bear, or… (Yeah, the kid’s going to receive a teddy bear, admit it.) Maybe she’s a tween. Now *what* are tweens into this year, besides 5 Seconds of Summer? Or perhaps you have – gasp – teens to shop for. Cash in an envelope? So 1990. Don’t even think of it.
Today, I’m happy to share my Top 3 eGift picks, guaranteed to put a smile on the face of even the toughest-to-shop-for kiddos. The best part? You don’t have to leave the comfort of your home. That’s right! No fighting crowds, no panicked trips to the mall. Just complete Christmas gifting mastery!
1. A Monthly Subscription Box. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Today, you can find a monthly box for virtually anyone on your holiday list: the vegan, the fashionista, the candy lover – there’s even a monthly box for Super Geeks. For a low monthly fee (as a gift giver, you can pay this in advance for a period of six months to one year), a special child in your life will receive brand new, themed products every four weeks or so.
Just be sure to do your research; read reviews, watch unboxing videos, ask questions about a brand’s customer service and most importantly, verify the quality and selection of products included. And, of course, double check the cancellation policy!
2. An iTunes Gift Card. I know, kids love music, so you may think this one is a no-brainer. But did you know that they’re one of the most flexible eGifts around? It’s true! iTunes Gift Cards are easy to give, and you can buy them from Apple and/or thousands of other retailers in a range of denominations. However, many people don’t know that every card works in the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store and Mac App Store, or toward an Apple Music membership – so your recipients can get exactly what they want.
Don’t want to leave the house? It’s easy to send an iTunes Gift for any occasion, because you can buy them on the iTunes Store online from your iOS device or computer, in any whole-dollar amount between CAN$10 and CAN$50. Choose a theme and add a personal message. Then, have your gift emailed on the spot, or pick a time for them to be delivered. Easy-peasy!
3. The Heritage eGifting Program. The very BEST gift you can give a child is the gift of education. But traditionally, an RESP, and the burden of growing one, was the sole responsibility of a child’s parents. But why shouldn’t you be able to assist with educational savings, without awkwardly handing over an envelope full of cash? Now, for children enrolled in a Heritage Registered Education Savings Plans, there’s a safe and convenient way to do it!
Introducing the Heritage eGifting Program. It’s simple, really. Heritage recognized the need parents have in terms of saving enough money, while at the same time looking towards their family, friends and those in the community who could also help raise funds, particularly for special occasions (cough, Christmas) and life milestones where many prefer to give the child cash.
The Heritage eGifting Program is an online fundraising campaign that easily distributes a link to family and friends who can contribute funds towards a child’s education savings plan. The unique and first-to-market Heritage eGifting Program is powered by FundRazr, an inexpensive and easy-to-use crowdfunding platform that has, to date, helped raise over $74 million from over 45,000 campaigns around the world.
Let me stress: it is still the responsibility of the parents to move the collected funds into their child’s RESP. (Translation: You are not directly depositing money into their account.) Rather, you’re “donating” money to a campaign – in this case, the opportunity for a child you know and love to have post-secondary education. However, whether it’s a few dollars or a few hundred dollars, it’s easier than ever to contribute to a child’s future.
And, really, is there a better gift than the gift of knowledge?
There you have it. Three of my top eGift picks for Christmas 2015! Do you have a favourite eGift?
These are great gift ideas! I love the idea of a subscription box…it’s like the gift that keeps on giving all year round :) But what I love most, is how family can contribute to education as a gift! Awesome :)
I love all 3 of these ideas – all unique, but children will love, if not now, definitely down the road!
Oh, very cool! Love this new way to be able to add funds to a child’s RESP. We give our nephews money for their RESP every year, but whose to say it goes there as planned? Going to look more into this FundRazr thing now, thanks for the heads up! :)
This year, I did all my shopping from the comfort of my own home. Ecommerce shopping is the second best invention ever!
The first is Heritage’s new eGifting program. Brilliant. I know several people that will definitely give because they’ll know exactly where and what their money will be spent on — a child’s education.
Besos, Sarah
Journeys of The Zoo
Really cool that Heritage is doing this now! Also, love the subscription box idea- haven’t done one yet, but I’d like to! Just need to find the right one in Canada :)
Education is one of the best gifts we can ever give our children! When my older boys were little, I saved money they were given for their birthdays, holidays, and relatives in an account. It was enough to pay for their first 3 years of post secondary education. It was tough as a single mom. Now my oldest is in his 3rd year engineering and I couldn’t be prouder. I wish someone gave me the gift of education!
This Heritage eGifting program will make it so much easier for friends and family to give a gift that means so much more than just “Stuff”
All great suggestions! My kids are always thrilled with itunes cards.
As my children have got older, family members find it so hard to find gifts for them. Some great gift ideas! Heritage Funds definitely has me intrigued to learn more. :)
These are great ideas. I have a monthly make up subscription and I love it. And the egifting idea for RESPs is awesome. I know my daughter gets far too many “things” at Christmas so this would be very welcome and bonus it makes gift giving so much easier for our family that doesn’t live near by.
This Heritage eGifting program is so awesome! I love all the above 3 ideas of eGifting and the best part about this program is that not only parents but even family and friends can contribute towards a child’s education which is so meaningful and beneficial to a child in the long run. Great post Lena!
Love all of these ideas! Especially the fact that you can do all of them so easily from the comfort of your home and that the Heritage Fund gives back to them through their entire life!
This is incredible and makes it so much easier for families to gift education! Incredible!
The gift of education is my favourite although I’d love a gift box of goodies! Gifting RESP is one of the best non-toy gift idea’s I can appreciate. See you at the twitter party!
The Heritage eGifting Program seems like the perfect gift! I also like the iTunes Gift Card idea.
3 fabulous ideas! I love giving and receiving iTunes gift card but I especially love that family and friends are able to donate to my children’s education. There is no better gift anyone could give them!
I love the RESP idea! We have RESPs for our girls (started when our oldest was 1) and I’ve always thought it would be great if aunts/uncles/grandparents could help us contribute to them. Especially when the girls really don’t “need” anything for Christmas. (Even my 5yo this year is saying she has lots of toys and doesn’t need more!) So thanks for sharing about this. :)
E-gifts are a great idea for long-distance relatives: saves on postage! When kids are young, they won’t even know they’re not getting something to “unwrap” if Grandma sends money for their RESP, but Grandma will still feel good about giving something!
These are all such fab ideas! I adore out of the box ideas for Christmas! Thanks for sharing :)
These are GREAT suggestions. Food for thought. Thanks Lena !
Great e-gift ideas. I absolutely LOVE the Heritage e-gifting idea! We give monetary gifts each year for our nieces and nephews. The intent is that it go towards their education, but whether it’s used for that, we never really know. At least this way, we can ensure that the money is going where we’d like it to go. Education is paramount.
I am getting too old to shop and i find Gift cards are really the way to go…everyone ends up happy
I love me a good subscription box! Curiosity Box is a great one for kids.
I love all of these ideas but I especially like Heritage e-gifting idea. What other gift are you going to get that keeps on giving throughout your entire life!?
Wht a great programme, and a fantastic alternative to the kids receiving a ton of toys this Christmas. Education is surprisingly inexpensive when spread out over many years.
great suggestions! I was racking my brain for last minute gift ideas
Great ideas I think I will be doing more e-gifts in the future
I love the idea of a subscription box,a gift that gives all year…
I love these ideas! Subscription boxes are great because there is one for everyone!
This year i am shopping from the comfort of my own home.There are some great deals out there for the taking !
I don’t have a subscription to any of the different boxes available but I do buy boxes that are available on a monthly basis on a website I visit often and I always love looking at and using the various products.