Last-Minute Christmas Gifts for Kids That Their Parents Will Love (According to a Financial Advisor)

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With Christmas only a week away, it’s starting to come down to the wire on your holiday gift shopping.

Ordering items online comes with unreliable shipping delivery dates and the malls are packed right now. If you still have a long list of people to buy Christmas presents for, it’s time to get creative.

Buying gifts for the children in your life can be a challenging task. Their interests change rapidly from year to year, along with what’s trending now. Today I’ll share some gift ideas that are practical for both giver and recipient that their parents will love.

Contribute to their 529 College Savings Plan

Did you know that adults other than parents can contribute to a child’s 529 college savings plan? This includes aunties, uncles, grandparents, family friends, and more.

I just received an email from a family member with a video attached showing their child’s 2nd birthday celebration. The video was a montage of photos and short clips showing the cute child’s daily life and how fast he’s growing up. At the end of the video was a QR code and link to contribute to the child’s 529 account. Genius!

Why contribute to their 529?

In a nutshell, the 529 account is a tax-advantaged savings account if the child withdraws the funds to pay for educational expenses. Investment growth of the contributed funds can be withdrawn tax-free for K-12 expenses or most commonly, for college and trade school so long as it meets the criteria for a qualified educational expense.

If you know the child has a 529 account set up, reach out to the parents for a link to make the gift. Just be aware that gifts to 529 accounts count toward the annual gift tax exclusion, which is $19,000 in 2025. If your gifts to one person exceed that amount in 2025, you’ll have to file a gift tax return with your tax filing.

Gift Experiences Instead of Items

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For teens, give them the gift of experiences instead of material items.

A study published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing found something interesting: young children between the ages of 3 and 12 generally derived more happiness in receiving material gifts.

Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 begin to derive more happiness from experiential gifts than material possessions, similar to adults.

Last-minute shoppers can avoid fighting the crowds by turning to experiential gifts for older kids. Many of these experiences can be paid for online in advance. Here are some ideas that might spark their interest:

Live events

• concert tickets to their favorite artist

• sports games

• theater or movie tickets

• comedy shows

• food festival passes

Creative and skill-building exercises 

• escape rooms

• art workshops

• music lessons

• cooking and baking classes

• photography workshops

Adventure & outdoor activities 

• surf, paddleboard, or snorkeling lessons

• zip-lining

• gym pass for rock climbing or martial arts

• pickleball lessons

Hawaii Theatre Center, for example, sells gift cards that can be applied to any of their upcoming shows. 

It’s helpful to generally know their interests in advance, but there are so many options to choose from.

Make an IRA Contribution on their Behalf

This final idea takes some coordination but may have the most meaningful financial impact on the child’s future.

Just as 529 contributions can be made by anyone, most custodians allow IRA contributions to be made by a person other than the account owner. For this to be an eligible contribution, the following requirements must be met:

• The child must have earned income from working.

• The total contributions into the IRA from all sources can’t exceed the lesser of the annual limit ($7,000 in 2025) or their earned income.

• If making a Roth contribution, the child’s income can’t exceed the limits for direct contributions.

  
  

If the child is a minor, coordination will need to happen with the adult custodian (usually the parent/guardian) managing the custodial IRA to ensure the requirements above are adhered to.

If done correctly, a gift of cash to use as an IRA contribution is both a great tool to teach them about the benefits of long-term investing and a building block to their retirement savings. The money ideally won’t be touched for many years until they reach retirement age and that allows the compound effect to shine, especially if the funds are going into a Roth IRA where it will grow tax-free.

I’ve met grandparents who gift cash to be used for retirement contributions to their teenage grandchildren working a part-time job. The parents appreciate it, and often it inspires the kids to learn more about money and investing.

In Summary

At this stage of last-minute Christmas shopping, you’ll need to think outside the box. Literally swapping the shopping mall insanity at big-box stores for gifts that can be made from the comfort of your home.

Giving cash and gift cards is one thing, but making contributions to tax-advantaged accounts on the child’s behalf can be more impactful over time. It’s always a good idea to contact their parent/guardian beforehand to coordinate the gift. If they’ve already set up a 529 or IRA for their child, they will really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Need help planning for your own retirement? We’re here to help.

👉🏼 [link to https://www.andrewsllc.com/contactus]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Travis

Investment advisory services offered through Andrews Advisory Associates LLC, a registered investment advisor.  This blog is not meant to give investment advice. Before investing in any advisory product please carefully read any disclosure documents, including without limitation, the firm’s Form ADVs. The information herein is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute an offer, solicitation or recommendation to sell or an offer to buy securities, investment products or investment advisory services. Nothing contained herein constitutes financial, legal, tax, or other advice. These opinions may not fit your financial status, risk and return profile or preferences. Investment recommendations may change, and readers are urged to check with their investment adviser before making any investment decisions.