Tooth-fairy tips and tales

photo by aka_kath

Curious what the going rate is for a lost tooth? Fortunately, she’s not giving cars yet, but I’ve discovered the tooth fairy I know is pretty frugal compared to most. She’s been known to give loose change and even small snacks to my kids. Readers share creative ways to celebrate the tooth-fairy tradition. Don’t have loose change or dollar bills? Not a problem: Print a tooth-fairy check from tooth-fairy city. If you have a creative story, let me know.

TOOTH-FAIRY PILLOW: My grandmother made a tooth-fairy pillow for me. It had a pocket made out of lace and snapped shut to hold the tooth. She stitched my name on it. I used it for every tooth I lost, and each tooth netted me $5. My kids didn’t have tooth pillows. They usually left a note and the tooth for the tooth fairy, and in return they got $5 per tooth. — Neeley, e-mail

GOLDEN COINS: We gave $1. We kept a stash of the Sacagawea dollars around. The boys loved them. They are also handy for when you forget to put it under their pillow and you are pretending to look around to see if the dollar (that the bad, bad tooth fairy really forgot to leave) fell off the bed. — Zakity, Oregon

DO NOT DISTURB: When my daughter lost her first tooth, she lost it when she was bumped in the hallway at school. She was VERY concerned that the tooth fairy wouldn’t come. She was also concerned that if she did come, she would feel under the pillow and find nothing and go away. So she had a little treasure chest that she had made at a birthday party. We took the chest, wrote a note to the fairy explaining the situation and put it on the floor outside her door. That way, the tooth fairy would be able to see the note before going into Julia’s room. Lo and behold, the next morning, the note was gone, but there was sparkle fairy dust on the floor with tiny little footprints in it and a dollar bill. Since then, with the other teeth she’s lost, she likes to have the treasure chest outside the door. She’s not really a fan of intruders into her room. — Amy B., New Jersey

TEACHABLE MOMENT: The tooth fairy always leaves a note with the money she gives. She discusses things that are going on right now with the child. In the letter, she might ask if the child likes the new movie that he or she rented, if the child is looking forward to an event coming up, a congratulations on a good grade, etc. Several times the tooth fairy has mentioned the messiness of the child’s bedroom and how difficult it makes the tooth fairy’s job. The tooth fairy has actually hurt herself in my daughter’s room because of my daughter’s mounds of stuff in her bedroom. The tooth fairy’s notes have always brought laughter and curiosity to my home, and I’ll miss her when there’s no need for her anymore. She’s done some good work here. — Pam, e-mail

GEOGRAPHY LESSON: At our house, the tooth fairy brings coins from other countries. She bought a snack-sized baggie full from eBay for about $5. My son usually gets three foreign coins and a state quarter. He has two maps hung up in his room — a world map and a U.S. map. My son puts a sticker on the flag of the country/state that the coin represents. It has become a great, fun geography lesson. — Georgiamama, Georgia

CHEERS: Back when the tooth fairy used to visit our house (I can’t believe it’s been awhile), the kids used to put the tooth in a glass of water, and, in the morning, there would be four quarters in the glass. It saved us from having to resort to dollar bills. My mom did this when we were growing up, but we just got a quarter. — Jamie, Kansas

Posted by Sara Noel on March 9 2008. Filed under Frugal Tips, Home & family.
Sara Noel owns Frugal Village, LLC and is a nationally syndicated columnist with Universal Uclick. Bio, Follow me on Twitter, Join us on Facebook