cash v vouchers for teens

[WhyOhWine]

I have teen DDs (13 and 14). DD1 in particular is quite hard to buy for so my mum originally said she was going to give them cash this year, which they will be really pleased with (they have enough other presents to open and like shopping and choosing stuff for themselves).
She has now decided that she is going to give them vouchers rather than cash. Which is of course absolutely up to her but she has asked what type of vouchers to get them. I have various suggestions for DD2 but stuggling for DD1 (e..g her clothes tend to come from vintage shops and she still has unused amazon vouchers from her birthday).
So I was just curious to know why people prefer to give vouchers rather than cash. I can see why people sometimes prefer to give actual gifts (fun to open, less obvous how much has been spent etc). But Im struggling with why vouchers are seen as better than cash.

It is not at all a big deal. I will suggest Boots i think, but I was a bit curious and a couple of my DNs are the age where I am planning money for the first time but was proposing just to put some cash in an envelope and my mum got me wondering if this somehow looks less thoughtful or something.

I would suggest to your mum that cash would really be the best option for the vintage loving DD. What difference does it make, it's all just money at the end of the day. It's so frustrating, and a waste to give a voucher that is not going to get used - drives me mad. I would rather have half the money and be able to get the best out of it than an unsued voucher gathering dust...

I think the voucher over cash is taht they have to be spent on a thing rather than just saved. Bl

Sorry pressed post to soon

I have one dd that primark vouchers would be her dream and the other would prefer cash as she shops in various shops

If I buy vouchers I tend to buy them for the local Shopping centre that way they can be spent in any shop rather than buying a specific shop one. I hate giving cash

I've exchanged Amazon vouchers with my children for cash before. The gift giver never needs to know.

I was thinking about cash v vouchers last week and decided to give my teens cash rather than a voucher. Some things like iTunes or Google Play need to be a gift card but I decided that I didn't want to limit them to one shop for other things.

I do think there is something more "gift like" about a voucher than cash though.

I'm with you on preferring cash to vouchers. I think most teens would prefer cash to vouchers (unless they have one shop that they buy loads from), as it gives them the freedom to buy what they want, or in some cases save it towards a bigger item.
The thing I dislike about vouchers, is you can guarantee that if my daughter has a voucher for £20 then the top she will want to buy will either be £18 or £25, so we either waste £2 of the voucher or I end up giving her money to get the more expensive top.

I think if you put cash in a nice money wallet and maybe wrap it with a bar of chocolate, it looks like you have put a lot more effort into than just sticking £20 in an envelope.

I agree - ask for Amazon vouchers and swap then quietly with your child for cash.