Anyone giving out Bitcoin as a Christmas gift this year?

[BitChick]

Just curious if many of you are being generous with the coins?  BitChicksHusband gave out a very small amount at his office.  It was interesting how the few he knows (and personally talked into investing) were super excited about even $10 worth of BTC.  I guess they understand the potential for even that small amount.   The others just found it amusing.  Not a bad idea for getting people interested though I would think.

[cdog]

Yes. I think giving friends and family BTC is hugely important, it is in fact essential to continual Bitcoin growth and increasing awareness, and no, it doesnt need to be much, at all. Shit, it doesnt even need to be Christmas!

Especially young people, ages 15-25. These open minded people are the future of our world and they need to get involved with Bitcoin asap.

[BitChick]

One co-worker said, "Ah man.  $10 is too much!"  To which my husband replied, "Don't worry about it.  I only spent about a $1 for it."  That made his friend a bit puzzled.   

[Bitcoinpro]

yes its all coin this year 

[hilariousandco]

I might give some out next year. I'll see how much Bitcoin enters the mainstream / public conscience during 2014. I might try design some Christmas or gift cards with the QR codes on them.

[goode400]

My kids will receive 1 bitcoin each this Christmas. They are all students and have not got any bitcoins so far. I wouldn't normally give out such a huge chunk of money to them but I believe that bitcoin will be a major story in their lives so I want them to be involved.

[hilariousandco]

My kids will receive 1 bitcoin each this Christmas. They are all students and have not got any bitcoins so far. I wouldn't normally give out such a huge chunk of money to them but I believe that bitcoin will be a major story in their lives so I want them to be involved.

Nice thought and hopefully it'll be a nice investment too. Just makes sure they understand it and it's value.

[goode400]

My kids will receive 1 bitcoin each this Christmas. They are all students and have not got any bitcoins so far. I wouldn't normally give out such a huge chunk of money to them but I believe that bitcoin will be a major story in their lives so I want them to be involved.

Nice thought and hopefully it'll be a nice investment too. Just makes sure they understand it and it's value.

i will....and I've made a backup copy of the paper wallets in case they throw them out with the Christmas wrapping paper!

[LiteCoinGuy]

yeah probably. its a good idea

[bitpop]

Sadly everyone I know would lose their private key or post it on Instagram

[bluemyst]

Yes Thinking to give some of worldcoins I have to my friends.


This could be a huge trend!!

[hilariousandco]

My kids will receive 1 bitcoin each this Christmas. They are all students and have not got any bitcoins so far. I wouldn't normally give out such a huge chunk of money to them but I believe that bitcoin will be a major story in their lives so I want them to be involved.

Nice thought and hopefully it'll be a nice investment too. Just makes sure they understand it and it's value.

i will....and I've made a backup copy of the paper wallets in case they throw them out with the Christmas wrapping paper!

Definitely a good idea, and if they misbehave you can steal it back if they haven't already spent it  .

Sadly everyone I know would lose their private key or post it on Instagram

Haha, I'm sure somebody has already posted their private QR code online before.

[Bobsurplus]

I'm giving out BTC and LTC this year, As I am in canada I have created accounts at virtex under the names of my family members/friends and funded the accounts with 1 btc each. Now all they have to do is get verified and there good to go.

In total I'll be handing out about 15 BTC and 150 LTC for Christmas/Chanukah/Chrismakah gifts

[hilariousandco]

I'm giving out BTC and LTC this year, As I am in canada I have created accounts at virtex under the names of my family members/friends and funded the accounts with 1 btc each. Now all they have to do is get verified and there good to go.

In total I'll be handing out about 15 BTC and 150 LTC for Christmas/Chanukah/Chrismakah gifts

Want to be friends?

I wonder if a company will make Bitcoin gift vouchers for purchase next year? Suppose it'd still be easier just to create your own, I think that's the beauty of Bitcoin.

[Bobsurplus]

I'm giving out BTC and LTC this year, As I am in canada I have created accounts at virtex under the names of my family members/friends and funded the accounts with 1 btc each. Now all they have to do is get verified and there good to go.

In total I'll be handing out about 15 BTC and 150 LTC for Christmas/Chanukah/Chrismakah gifts

Want to be friends?

I wonder if a company will make Bitcoin gift vouchers for purchase next year? Suppose it'd still be easier just to create your own, I think that's the beauty of Bitcoin.

  Sure we can be friends! As for the btc giftcards, I dont see that any time soon but you never know.

[Dafar]

I offered all my female co-works 0.1 BTC for a good old fashioned christmas blow job but they all respectfully declined.

[westkybitcoins]

Yes!

I handed out Casascius coins a couple of years ago, and some bit cents last year. So far the family has been excited about the returns, and I plan on handing out more this year.

In fact, I was actually planning on writing up a post, something like "A Family's Introduction to Bitcoin", after this holiday, since I plan to hand out $5-$10 in Bitcoin to anyone in the family, young or old, who wants it. I've noticed interesting trends and sticking points that I think others might find insightful.

[BitChick]

Yes!

I handed out Casascius coins a couple of years ago, and some bit cents last year. So far the family has been excited about the returns, and I plan on handing out more this year.

In fact, I was actually planning on writing up a post, something like "A Family's Introduction to Bitcoin", after this holiday, since I plan to hand out $5-$10 in Bitcoin to anyone in the family, young or old, who wants it. I've noticed interesting trends and sticking points that I think others might find insightful.

Some family members are just cooler then others.    After seeing the returns on those coins from a couple years ago they will be pretty excited to get more! 

[btcmonster]

im giving my family and friends bitcoin tomorrow

[Mousepotato]

I'm giving my nieces a mix of BTC and LTC this year

[Blazed]

Giving out some LTC and BTC for sure!

[robincj91]

I am! Although my mums opted for LTC, I gave her a choice with a breif rundown of both options!  Much better than a bottle of perfume if you ask me!

[virtualfaqs]

In 2012, I gave a 25 BTC Casascius to a close couple getting married. They sold at $180/BTC at my advice. This was correct since the price dropped to $60/BTC. But they never bought back and neither did I. 

I'd like to give out some physical BTC too. But there's no easy way to do it is there?

[daviducsb]

yup, and wish more people would to spur adoption

[freedomno1]

My kids will receive 1 bitcoin each this Christmas. They are all students and have not got any bitcoins so far. I wouldn't normally give out such a huge chunk of money to them but I believe that bitcoin will be a major story in their lives so I want them to be involved.

Nice thought and hopefully it'll be a nice investment too. Just makes sure they understand it and it's value.

i will....and I've made a backup copy of the paper wallets in case they throw them out with the Christmas wrapping paper!

This make sure they are refundable lol

[deltanine]

Giving out bitcoins to my sons and nephews this year.  I don't have any daughters or nieces or else they would get some too.

My sons are each getting a first run Casascius Coin with the spelling error.

[jbreher]

Kids, Their S.O.'s and Grandkids are all getting paper wallets this year. I have included the following dumbed-down intro:

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Your gift is a Bitcoin Paper Wallet. I believe that the invention of CryptoCurrencies, of which Bitcoin is the first, will be an invention nearly as important as the Internet. This gift is incentive for you to learn, before the masses catch on, something about this important new technology.

So what is this thing?

Your Bitcoin Paper Wallet consists of a readable form of two pieces of information. These pieces of information are made up of long strings of numbers and letters. These pieces of information are:
•   Bitcoin Public Address
•   Bitcoin Private Key
Each of these are present in both human-readable (text) and computer-readable (QR code) forms.

The Bitcoin Public Address is the address at which some bitcoins are stored. This piece of information is visible on your Bitcoin Paper Wallet. This address is used to check the balance of the wallet, or to send additional bitcoins to the wallet. The address is not secret – there is no downside of letting people see it.

The Bitcoin Public Key is the key by which you can spend your bitcoins. Bitcoins are spent by cryptographically signing a transaction that states you are sending your bitcoins to some other address. The signature is generated by software from your Bitcoin Private Key. The Bitcoin Private Key must be kept secret. Anyone who knows your key can spend your bitcoins. Keep it hidden!

As your private key must be kept secret, it is hidden in the folded up part of your Bitcoin Paper Wallet. It is sealed shut with tamper-evident holographic stickers. You may note that your stickers have matching serial numbers for added security. Do not expose the private key until you want to spend your bitcoins!

On the reverse side of this note is a copy of what lies under the folded over portion of your Bitcoin Paper Wallet. Hopefully, this will eliminate the temptation to peek underneath at the secret stuff. Of course, the actual address and key values on the sample don’t match your Bitcoin Paper Wallet’s, nor anyone else’s.

I bought some bitcoins when they were about the price of a burger. They’re now quite a bit more valuable than that. I think there is a good chance that, within several years, a single bitcoin might be enough money to buy a house or a college education. Please look after your Bitcoin Paper Wallet.

If you have any questions on bitcoin in general, I am quite knowledgeable on the topic. I would like you to learn about this, and would be glad to answer any questions.

[elchelito]

I am giving each of my cousins two LTC.

Printed out paper wallets and folded them into a picture frame. On the front you see the public key and the QR code for it.

But you have to take apart the frame to get to the private key.

I think it's fun, they can put it somewhere and check the price from time to time...

[MessyCoin]

Printed out some paper wallets and sent some BTC to their private keys. I'll include these in xmas cards I give to people

[xbithero]

i did the same with some friends

[kuverty]

Will be a little late, but I'm giving a paper wallet worth 1 BTC to a good friend of mine, complete with a nice vanity address.

[tbc]

This is a good idea. Thanks and Merry Christmas. 

[pizzabit]

i just gave a friend of mine 0.05 BTC he was very happy !!

[LiteCoinGuy]

btc and ltc was a good present  !

[bitpop]

So how were they received?

[cdog]

A little confused, but when I told them "its like gold, but on the internet" they got pretty excited.

A couple of friends who learned about BTC from me but never bought any themselves went from skeptical to enthusiastic quite rapidly.

I told them its theirs now, they can sell if it if they want to but my advice was to hold it for at least a year, and then start spending a fraction of it as a way to take some profit. https://www.bitcoinstore.com/ is a great place to start.

But I think Overstock.com taking BTC in 2014 will be a really big deal, as its a huge site with awesome deals that already has a massive userbase.

Im planning on buying an all new furniture set from them, I could spend fiat now but Id rather buy BTC with that $ and then take the furniture as profits later, because spending BTC adds a non-zero amount to the value of Bitcoin, while selling for fiat removes some value.

[luqash3]

BitChick Nice idea to accumulate a precious gift bitcoins well sorry I am a poor guy with no bitcoins so all what I may do is pray for your success and all other people on the forum. Happy Christmas and hey if you get sufficient amount of bitcoins in gift then do share with me. 

[cbcb]

Hehe I spread some joy in bitcointalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=383569.0

Cheers!