Parenting

Guy Makes Cash Christmas Gifts Look Like Funko And '80s Action Figures

by Leah Groth
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Donnachaidha O’Chionnaigh/Twitter

One super creative guy’s 1980s action figure-inspired packaging for cash gifts to the kids in his family has gone viral

Fact: a good number of people prefer cash or gift cards over presents they probably don’t really want or need. However, despite this fact, gifting money to friends and relatives can often seem like a seriously lazy copout. I mean, sticking a wad of cash in an envelope can feel incredibly impersonal, but then so many of us end up spending weeks deliberating on what to get this said person, only to have them unwrap the gift, pretend to be excited, and then proceed to spend an hour waiting in line on December 26 to return it. Well, one super creative guy figured out a way to gift his family members cash, while still putting some thought, creativity, and utter brilliance into it.

“None of the kids wanted toys for Christmas this year, they just wanted cash,” tweeted Donnachaidha O’Chionnaigh, who goes by the Twitter handle @TwoClawsMedia, on Christmas. “Understandable, but cash as a gift, while practical, always feels impersonal, so I made special packaging. Went over well.”

His “special packaging” is so next-level that it’s already gone viral on social media and people are sending requests for him to make duplicates they can buy.

Within days his post has garnered over 690,000 likes and nearly 125,000 comments — mostly people praising his epic idea and asking questions about how to do it themselves.

He basically created custom packages — each unique and inspired — for each of the kids. Most of them resembled toy packaging for 1980s action figures, while one is a dead-ringer for a Funko Pop! package.

He explained: “All of them were made in photoshop, printed on cardstock, and cut to shape. I found pics of old blister pack figures online and either recreated them or heavily modified them, whichever was simpler.”

He even provided a picture diagram, so that fans could construct their own at home. “I made them sized to print on 8.5″x11″ paper except the Funko one, which I formatted for 11″x17″. Actual Funko boxes are bigger than that, but I wanted the bill to fill the window,” he explained.

For the plastic boxes, he reused Christmas ornament packaging. “I was going to use dollar store action figures, but couldn’t figure out a clean way to remove the glued-on bits of printed paper on the blister packs without ruining them. Reusing plastic boxes was less wasteful, too,” he explained.

In fact, he encouraged people to copy his idea, explaining that he doesn’t have an Etsy account or the time to sell them. “I do have a Redbubble linked in my bio for my other stuff (all proceeds donated to RAICES),” he added.

In case you are curious about the response he got from the kids in his family, it was epic.

“They really liked them!,” he responded to a tweet. “I knew the teens would get the idea right away, but I was surprised even the youngest ones (8 & 10) liked them so much, and they’ve never really been into action figures. They said they didn’t want to take them out of the box.”

In the comments, many people shared other creative ways to gift money. One girl got cash between two pieces of bread, while another woman got super creative when her nephew requested “cold hard cash.”

O’Chionnaigh graciously responded to endless comments and questions, but he finally opted to put the conversation on mute, thanking fans for all the lovely comments.

In other news, “envelope with cash” is officially retired.

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