Sharan Sammi likes to focus on financial gifts each festive season – to set her kids up for the future
Sharan Sammi likes giving “something different” to her children at Christmas – and this year will be no different.
She says her 8 and 11-year-old get so many presents each December from grandparents, aunties, uncles and other assorted relatives, that she decided a few years ago to switch up her gifting.
Now, the 44-year-old and her husband will be giving their children premium bonds, shares and savings this Christmas Day, instead of toys.
And Sharan, who had a two decade career in the financial services industry before going self-employed in 2020, says she would even have put down a deposit for them to get a buy-to-let property each, if they had been old enough.
“The kids get bombarded with presents from various relatives and so when we end up giving them our gifts, they’re almost not bothered, so we decided to save the money and put them into some form of accounts,” she said.
“I’ll be gifting them both money in the form of children premium bonds, I’ll be adding some shares in their Junior ISA as well as opening a fixed term savings bond account too. I’ll probably gift around £2,000 each across different things.
“Lots of people don’t feel comfortable with shares but because I worked in finance I do understand investing and how it can help grow money in the long-term,” she explains.
Sharan, who lives in Wolverhampton, says she sees the gifts as investments towards her children’s futures.
She says: “We’re hoping that as soon as they hit 18 they use the money as deposits for a property. We’re also hoping they go to university so they can use it for fees as well.
“We want them to grow up being financially astute.”
In terms of how to explain the gift, Sharan says she will type out what she is giving them and put it into a Christmas card for each of the children.
“I like doing this more than giving computer games or whatever else they might get,” she adds.
Sharan’s focus on financial planning for the future comes from her own upbringing – when she sometimes got financial gifts herself – and her career.
Having previously worked in financial markets, she is now a money mindset mentor who works with her clients to help them strengthen their approaches to money, which is what she is trying to do with her own children.
Financial advisers say that if you can afford it, gifting your children financial products can be an excellent way to set them up for later life.
“With the cost of living still biting, and rampant consumerism still on the minds of the conscious, more and more people are opting for inter-generational financial help at Christmas to support loved ones,” says Samuel Mather-Holgate, managing director at Mather and Murray Financial.
Junior ISAs are one option. They let you save or invest up to £9,000 in the 2025/26 tax year, with the cash locked away until the child turns 18.
You can put the money into cash or stocks and shares and any of the gains or interest is tax free.
You can also open a pension for your child. You can open a Junior Self-Invested Personal Pension (Junior SIPP) in the child’s name and get tax relief on contributions. Anyone can then contribute, but the funds are locked away until the child reaches the minimum pension age, which is currently 55.
Any adult can also buy premium bonds for their children. These are where your money is entered into a prize draw instead of earning interest, offering tax-free cash prizes from £25 up to £1m.