Birthday cards are expensive. There’s no question about it.

The problem is that a fancy card doesn’t hold a whole lot of value for the person receiving the card – especially if that person is a child.  Every year, we’ll spend a couple of dollars to buy kids a card.  Why not make them a simple little card and put the $3 you would have paid for a commercial card into the envelope instead?  

I know that $3 doesn’t seem like much for an adult.  But to a kid, money is money.  They can do a lot with $3 that they can’t do with a card, especially if everyone who usually buys them a birthday card hands them a handmade card and $3 instead.

It’s just something to think about.