Don’t give your children toys for Xmas, give money

If you give your children or grandchildren fashionable toys for Christmas they’ll soon forget about them – so put some money to work for them instead.

Children with money boxes

The MoneyBox Tree: a magic money tree for children
(Image credit: Copyright Ⓒ 2016 Kirsty Mattsson)

The top toys for this Christmas include a Barbie Dream Plane and a Lego Knight Bus. These gifts may go down well on the day, but eventually they are likely to end up in landfill or at the local car-boot sale when your children or grandchildren get fed up with them. So how about breaking with tradition this year and giving the gift of cash?

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Ruth Jackson-Kirby

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.