Instead of giving birthday or holiday gifts, her uncle tucked sums between $25 and $100 into a savings account — and gave it to her all at once.

Give your loved ones the gift they actually want for Christmas and beyond: free money. From Etsy to Apple, these are the top ideas to get ahead of your holiday shopping.

He liked to give me gifts: books, clothes. I’d send selfies in return. One day the messages stopped. I Googled his name and found an obituary. I wore a shirt he bought me to his celebration of life.