18th Birthday - Question

[Sundae]

I know very little about my nephew, who will be 18 in December.
My Mum never sees him (he's never even been to their new flat, but to be honest, I think in the last year and a half it was up to his parents to drag him... IMHO). And my sister has always favoured my niece - except for the old you-know, tricky time - so is not even being helpful to Mum.

Oh, like Christmas, my budget means I have to plan well in advance.
Tcha, who has children three years apart, so the family have a 21st and an 18th in the same year? I ask you? Although that is a comedy eye-roll, which I would do even if they were the children of someone who loved me.

I've decided on cold hard cash for Samuel.
No-one seems to know him well enough for me to get something very personal, and he will at least appreciate that.

The choices I've settled on are thus:

Currency laid out in a circle, like a pizza, in an (unused!) pizza box. I can sweet-talk one of the independents out of a pizza box. Especially if I offer to buy a real pizza and ask for another box
It will have to be in $, as our smallest currency note is £5 (approx $7.75). I can't afford enough of those to make a pizza style arrangement! But it's easily exchanged.

OR

Fold a British note origami style into a shirt, which I've seen plenty of times and loved.
I'd practice, practice, practice on normal paper before attempting on currency.

I'd incur postage on the pizza box, but with enough time to save I could easily handle that, as weight costs more than size when you get to "small Package" charges.

Which of the above do you think is most cool/ would you get an 18 year old you didn't know/ would impress you as a parent?
He gets the £ anyway, in a special way, not tucked into a card.

Am not really asking for any other options, because my response would be likely, "I don't know if he's into that."
But do feel free if you know of something cool.

ETA - 18 is a major landmark birthday here, although laws have changed since I was 18, so that 16 and 21 seem more significant legally now.
But you are still generally considered to become an adult at 18 still - it's the top rating for films for example.

[glatt]

I like the origami shirt idea better, especial if it's in a currency he can use without going to a money exchange kiosk first. It's clever and immediately useful. I'd be worried he would just be bewildered by a bunch of US$ in a pizza box.

[Sundae]

Wouldn't usually respond to individual posts immediately when I'm canvassing opinions, but came back as I've just made my first "shirt" from a magazine page. Origami - start big, work your way down.



The pleasure I've had from it carries a lot of currency. Currency, geddit? Hahahaha.

Ahem.

Exchanging money is probably far more common in the UK. Any Post Office will do it.
I was only worried that the pizza seemed a bit gimmicky, rather than impractical. But I don't know how the yoof of today thinks about these things; I'd have been blown away by it at that age. Or actually at any age, that someone had bothered to do that for me.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Extra large condoms. Stroke his ego and piss off your sister.

[Gravdigr]

Hookers.

And, y'know, the condoms.

[Clodfobble]

I think the pizza sounds cool myself, because it's also sort of an implication of what he's likely to spend it on. There's also something neat about getting lots of small bills instead of one big one. If you do the shirts, I would still get as many smaller bills as you can and give him a whole box of shirts--with a card about how much you knew he wanted clothes.

[monster]

shirt. With the #18 on it in removable tape or sticker if you can.

But I did think is was the law in the UK that aunts had to send low denomination Boots vouchers. My, how things have changed since I left....

[Sundae]

I always get Boots giftcards from my sister.
I think it's the only place she can be confident I won't spend the money on intoxicants (hahaha rubbingalcohol hahaha)

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

... I would still get as many smaller bills as you can and give him a whole box of shirts--with a card about how much you knew he wanted clothes.

I like this idea.

[Sundae]

Right.
Have decided. Surprise surprise, it's both.

Will accrue a stack of dollar bills between now and December, to make the pizza.
But will fold an English banknote onto a card in the shape of a shirt. With the tagline "I know how much you love clothes."
Not blowing my own trumpet, but I can sit quite happily and fold a shirt from a receipt, a bus ticket, a discarded lottery ticket. It's a really simple fold in the end.

Now I have to master a heart, to make a banknote card for my niece.
May use a Euro note for that, not sure how low they go. It's a token gift as I already have a personalised present for her 21st (end of September). But the card will be hand-made, unique to her and also carry the cachet of money, even if it's actually cheaper than a Hallmark card.