Summary6 min read

Podcast Summary: The Bert Show – "Vault: Do Grandparents Still Give You Money Even After You're Grown?"

Release Date: November 25, 2025
Host: The Bert Show Cast (Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy & others)

Episode Overview

This episode delves into a heartfelt and humorous discussion among The Bert Show cast and their listeners about a tradition common in many families: grandparents and older relatives continuing to give small cash gifts, like $5 or $10 bills, long after their grandchildren become adults. The conversation explores the sentimental value behind these gifts, varying family customs, memorable stories from callers, and wider reflections on generational differences.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Story: The $5 Christmas Card Tradition

Bert shares how his wife Stacy’s aunt has given Stacy $5 in a Christmas card every year since she was born. Now 36, Stacy still receives it, sparking the question: Is this a common tradition in “healthy” families, or just a quirky family thing?
The cast agrees it’s a sweet, widespread tradition, not unique to just one family.

"Every single Christmas. And the Christmas card came yesterday. And this is a grown woman—she’s 36 years old now, and this aunt has given the $5 in the Christmas card every single year." — Bert (03:15)

2. Cast Members’ Personal Stories

Kristin reminisces about a grandmother who mailed her $10 annually, whether for a birthday or Christmas, and notes how the value of money and meaning changes as you grow older.
The cast highlights how these cash gifts start meaningful for children but become nostalgic, almost comical, as adults.

"When I was like 6, 10 bucks is a big deal to a 6-year-old... By the time I’m 18, doesn’t even really fill the gas tank…by 25, it’s almost like a joke. But you’re not even gonna say anything because it’s just something she’s been doing since you were four." — Kristin (04:02)

3. Traditions Beyond Money

The crew mentions other quirky holiday requirements, like H (not present that morning) who still has to take Christmas photos with Santa for his grandparents at age 24.
Birthday gifts often “cap” at a certain dollar value as the child grows, sticking as a tradition.

"Every Christmas, he has to go get his picture taken with Santa for his grandparents. And he’s 24 and his brother’s 21, and they still have to go do it." — Bert (05:40)

4. Listener Stories (08:25–19:10)

a. Danielle – The Sock & $5 Combo

Danielle continues to receive $5 and a pair of socks every Christmas from her Aunt Connie—now extended to her fiancé. The logic: 'Everyone can use an extra pair of socks.'
The cast sees wisdom in this practical tradition.

"Every year gives me $5 and a pair of socks. I’m 25. My brother’s 30. We get it every year. And I’m engaged now. And last Christmas, my fiancé got a pair of socks and $5, too." — Danielle (08:30)

b. Chris – The Eccentric Aunt

Chris describes his 89-year-old Aunt Marie, who sends $5 for every birthday and Christmas. She is flamboyant, showing up in gold lamé pants and “bombs” (gin martinis).
Chris realizes he’s not alone; the $5 gift is a widespread custom.

"She’ll come to Christmas dinner wearing gold lamé pants and a pink shiny shirt with about 4-inch pumps on. She drinks what she knows as her bombs, which are gin martinis. But apparently I’m not alone." — Chris (10:15)

c. Emily – Grandmother Checks

Emily’s grandmother sends $5 for birthdays, sometimes requiring a relative to “chase” her with a checkbook, as the grandmother feels $5 is still significant.
They acknowledge $5 was worth more in the past, and for a grandparent giving to many, it’s still meaningful.

"Her son has to chase us with a checkbook afterwards because she thinks that’s a lot of money still." — Emily (12:40)

d. Jennifer – The Taped Silver Dollar

Jennifer's grandmother sends a silver dollar taped to a card every birthday—a fun tradition she now passes on to her daughter in her own way.

"Every birthday, I get a silver dollar taped to a card... No, usually they’re in my daughter’s piggy bank because my daughter actually gets cash for her birthday." — Jennifer (14:15)

e. Michael – McDonald’s Gift Cards

Michael’s fiancée’s grandmother sends McDonald’s gift cards for every occasion ($5–$10 each).
The cast agrees: as an adult, fast-food gift certificates could be unexpectedly useful.

"My fiancée’s grandmother sends gift cards to McDonald's every single occasion… $10 at McDonald's goes a long way, especially since I have a 4-year-old as well." — Michael (17:35)

5. Wider Reflections & Generational Differences

Grandparents’ punctuality with gifts and cards is admired; cast jokes about their reliable timing.
Cast discusses the superior penmanship of older generations and their love of “crisp bills.”
Nostalgia about handwriting and how email/typing has replaced the tradition of letter writing.

"You ever notice how grandparents are never late either? I mean, that thing is gonna be there on time. They are never, ever, ever late." — Bert (15:56)

"Have you noticed that grandparents always have much better penmanship than either grandparents or our generation?... I always feel more pressure if I’m gonna write a, you know, if I address anything to an older relative." — Kristin (16:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On evolving value:
"Back in the day, $5 was a hell of a lot of money. And if she’s giving that to every grandchild… she’s divvying out however much, taking the Social Security check." — Kristin (13:05)
On family quirks:
"Sounds like my family drama. Oh, I got it. I’ll give it to my abuela… Aunt Liz will be jealous." — The Bert Show, playfully roleplaying family holiday scenarios (various)
On the traditions' warmth:
"It’s the sentimental, the whole thing…it's just something that’s been going on since you were four." — Bert (04:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

[03:15] Main topic introduction: Stacy’s “forever $5” holiday card story
[04:02] Cast reminisces: childhood vs. adult significance of small cash gifts
[05:40] Extended traditions: adult children still taking Santa photos
[08:25] Listener Danielle: socks and $5 tradition
[10:15] Listener Chris: the eccentric gift-giving aunt
[12:40] Listener Emily: grandmother’s $5 and checkbook story
[14:15] Listener Jennifer: silver dollar taped to every birthday card
[15:56] Discussion: Grandparents’ reliability
[16:40] Handwriting and generational changes
[17:35] Listener Michael: McDonald’s gift cards from grandma

Episode Takeaways

Small, thoughtful gifts from grandparents hold sentimental value, even as monetary worth diminishes.
Such traditions are widespread and a source of nostalgia and laughter as families grow.
Generational customs—be they crisp $5 bills, socks, silver dollars, or gift cards—create lasting memories and stories.
The episode blends humor and warmth, highlighting the kind quirks that shape family identity.

For listeners with similar family traditions, this episode offers both a relatable laugh and a reminder of the simple joys in long-standing holiday customs.

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[00:01]
A
Oh, hey, welcome to gift wrapping. Whoa. So is Saldana. Hey, can you wrap these, please? Wow. IPhone 17s. You splurged at T Mobile. You can get four iPhone 17s on them. The new center stage front camera is amazing for group selfies. It's the perfect gift for everyone. I'm the worst. I only got my mom a robe. Well, it's better than socks. So I have to trade in my old phone, right? No, AT T Mobile. There's no trade ins needed when you switch. Keep your old phone or give it as a gift. Incredible. In fact, wrap up my old phone too for my aunt Rosa. Forget that. Aunt Liz will be jealous. Sounds like my family drama. Oh, I got it. I'll give it to my abuela. I'll take reindeer paper with. Hey, where are you going? To T Mobile. The holidays are better. AT T Mobile get four iPhone 17s on us. No trade in needed when you switch plus four lines for just 25 bucks a line. And now T Mobile is available in US cellular stores with 24 monthly bill credits and four eligible board inside essentials for well qualified customers. Auto pay + taxes fees and $35 device connection charge credits. And in medical balance due if you pay off early or cancel. Contact Us Finance Agreement. 256 gigabytes. $830 required. Visit t mobile.com okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first, There the last one. Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes. The birch show. This seems. It doesn't even seem odd to me, but because I come from a family that isn't like healthy like your families, that anytime I see anything that happens on Stacy's side of the family, I'm always a little bit curious as to if this happens in healthy families or is this just a typically Stacy side of the family type thing? And I have noticed, and she's even brought it up to me also, that Stacy has an aunt that every year since Stacy was like born, has given Stacy $5 for Christmas. Every single Christmas. And the Christmas card came yesterday. And this is a grown woman. I mean, the family is doing pretty well for each other. She's 36 years old now, and. And this aunt has given the $5 in the Christmas card every single year. That's cute. Is that commonplace? So cute. Yeah, that is commonplace. I had a grandmother who sent me like 10 bucks or something like every year for Christmas or my birthday. I don't remember which one. Maybe both. But it was just like, you know, first of all, when she was a child, $10 was a week's pay, so that was huge. And then when I was like 6, 10 bucks is a big deal to a 6 year old. I mean, you know, you could buy a lot of now and laters with 6 bucks or 10 bucks, you know what I'm saying? And then I became 10, and 10 bucks is still kind of a big deal. And then I got to be 15, and then 10 bucks doesn't really go into the new car fund that make that big of a dent, but whatever. And then by the time I'm 18, doesn't even really fill the gas tank once. And then when I'm 25, it's almost like a joke. But you're not even gonna say anything because it's just something that she's been doing since you were four. Yeah, it's the sentimental, the whole thing. Like H was telling us. It's funny how these traditions kind of translate through your entire life. Because H, who's not in the studio this morning, but every Christmas he has to go get his picture taken with Santa for his grandparents. Oh, that's right. And he's 24 and his brother's 21, and they still have to go do it. I mean, they don't even, the grandparents, I don't think even demand it. It's just kind of like it's part of tradition. So even though he's technically an adult now, still holds the same tradition. My birthday was in October, and yet again, my now 90 year old grandmother mailed me ten $1 bills. Yeah, every year. And it happened like I got a dollar when I was, you know, $2 when I was 2, $3 when I was 3, 4, 5, 6, and it just stayed at 10. I think the same thing happened with Stacy on her birthday because the same aunt used to do that for her birthday too. And. And it tapped out at 10. Yeah, but she still gets the 10 bucks. But they're always 10 $1 bills just so I don't spend it all in the same place. Right. So cute. So you take it all, the tattletales and tip 10 different answers. Yeah. Hey, Danielle, you're on Q100. Hi, I was just calling it great. I have an Aunt Connie and every year gives me $5 and a pair of socks. I'm 25. My brother's 30. We get it every year. And I'm engaged now. And last Christmas, my fiance got a pair of socks and $5, too. Awesome. He's in the family, so now she's extending the warmth. Yes. What is the significance of the socks? I don't know. She just says everyone could use an extra pair of socks. That's the logic. So true. I mean, really, there's wisdom in that. You can't argue. Good morning, Chris. You're on Q100. Good morning, yellow. Hello. Hello. How are y'? All? Good, thank you. Yeah, I have an aunt Marie. She's 89 years old. I am now 33. Every year for my birthday and for Christmas, she sends me my $5. The same woman. Like I said, she's almost 90 years old. Now, she will come to Christmas dinner wearing gold Lemay pants and a pink shiny shirt with about 4 inch pumps on. She drinks what she knows as her bombs, which are gin martinis. And I thought I just lived in a very eccentric family, that we had this nut Aunt Marie, who always gave us five bucks. But apparently I'm not alone. No, the phone lines are lit up with people that have to go through the same tradition every single year. And $5 seems to be just about the common denominator. Hey, Emily, good Morning. You're on Q100. Hi. Hey. Longtime listener, first time caller. Thank you. I have an aunt, sorry, a grandmother that gives me $5 every birthday. And my husband's great grandmother gives out $5 for birthdays and wed. And usually, like her son has to chase us with a checkbook afterwards because she thinks that's a lot of money still, Right? Yeah. Well, back in the day, I mean, five bucks was that. Yeah, a hell of a lot of money. And if she's giving that to every grandchild or every great grandchild, I mean, it's not just you that you're get. You know who's getting the five bucks. So she's divvying out however much, taking the Social Security check. She's. Oh, leave her alone. Hey, Jennifer, good morning. You're on Q100. Good morning. Every birthday I get a silver dollar taped to a card. Oh, that's cool. Really? You have to like. I mean, like, get a chisel to get this tape off because she's like a tape fanatic. Right? Do you save all of them? No, usually they're in my daughter's piggy bank because my daughter actually gets cash for her birthday. How much she getting? She gets anywhere between five $15 a birthday, just whatever I guess my grandma has in her wallet. She just puts all of it in her card and I get the silver dollar taped. You ever notice how grandparents are never late either? I mean, that Thing is gonna be there on time. They are never, ever, ever late. It's rude to be late and to forget birthdays. Well, they're old. What else do they have going on? Everything's just a countdown to the next occasion. You got to fill out that Publishers Clearinghouse thing. Right? That's occasion. That's. They were always been that way, though. Yeah, that generation's always been that way. They're the ones that had. Still in their house somewhere have the. Whatever you call the little desk that pulls out so that they can write their letter. Yeah, I mean, yeah, they've always been that way. Probably took the ca from underneath the mattress to put it in the car too. And have you noticed that grandparents always have much better penmanship than either grandparents or our generation? Like, they all write very well. When's the last time you actually wrote an entire letter? Not a card. It's hard to. An entire letter. My handwriting is worse now than it was when I was in probably high school. Cause I think it was in college when I started using word processors for everything. And then eventually computers and laptops, whatever. But you know, you had to handwrite everything in school. And I had great handwriting that now I. And I always feel more pressure if I'm gonna write a, you know, if, if I address anything to an older relative, I feel more pressure to have better handwriting. I don't think I can even remember all the letters in cursive. I know. You know what I'm doing these days is like I go half printing, half cursive. Yeah. It's like, you know, like people that, you know, that speak two different languages, when they're really mad, they break into the other language. That's how my writing is now. It's half, all capitals and the other half is all cursive. You know, it'd be really weird if you wrote Spanglish half capitals and half cursive. You know what else grandparents do that's neat is they will never send you an old beat up $all Chris. Like they'll save, they'll find like if they get a brand new bill is changed. Like they set that aside and said, this will be good for Jennifer's birthday. Before that was taped together, though, talking about the tape, you know, like the one that maybe they accidentally ripped. You know, for some reason my grandmother would have walked that into the bank and said, I've got some damaged currency. Think I'm supposed to turn this in with you and then get a new one. Hey, Michael, you're on Q100 hey, guys. I just want to let you guys know I have something better than money. Okay. My fiance's grandmother sends gift cards to McDonald's every single occasion. Cute. How much? Usually it's five to ten dollars, depending on which kid she's sending it to. But she sends it all in bulk to my fiance's mother or my mother in law, I guess. And she disperses them out to all the kids. It's four different kids. That's awesome. And $10 at McDonald's goes a long way. Yeah, it does. Especially since I have a 4 year old as well, so that's always great for him. He gets a lot of happy meals. Awesome. See, that would actually be a cool present to get as an adult. Mickey D's, right? Like if you got a McDonald's. McDonald's gift certificates. Cause when do you think about, you know, like, I never think about going to McDonald's. Like, is like I'm gonna go to McDonald's. Like, I never make an occasion of going to a fast food restaurant. It's always something like, oh, I'm starving. Let me swing through here and get a fries and a coke. You know what I mean? But like, if I had gift certificates, it would be there all the time. It'd be an occasion. Well, whoever's got Jeff and Secret Santa, now we know the Birch show. Oh, hey. Welcome to gift wrapping. Whoa. So is Saldana. Hey, can you wrap these, please? Wow. IPhone 17s. You splurged at T Mobile, you can get four iPhone 17s on them. The new center stage front camera is amazing for group selfies. It's the perfect gift for everyone. I'm the worst. I only got my mom a robe. Well, it's better than socks. So I have to drop trade in my old phone, right? No, AT T mobile, there's no trade ins needed when you switch. Keep your old phone or give it as a gift. Incredible. In fact, wrap up my old phone too for my aunt Rosa. Forget that. Aunt Liz will be jealous. Sounds like my family drama. Oh, I got it. I'll give it to my abuela. I'll take reindeer paper with. Hey, where are you going? To T mobile. The holidays are better. AT T Mobile get four iPhone 17s on us. No trade in needed when you switch plus four lines for just 25 bucks a line. And now T mobile is available in US cellular stores with 24 month legal credits and four eligible board inside essentials for well qualified customers. Auto pay plus taxes, fees and 35 device connection charge credits. And in balance due if you pay off earlier. Cancel Contact Us Finance Agreement 256 gigabytes 830 required Visit T mobile.com hi, this is Knox from the podcast with Knox and Jamie and maybe like us at the podcast you also know people who have been smokers or vapers and Zen is the one product it seems like everyone is talking about because there are many good reasons to make a change to Zen nicotine pouches. Reasons like Zen Nicotine pouches are still America's number one choice for smoke free hands free nicotine satisfaction and you can choose between 10 varieties, each variety available in either 3 or 6 milligrams. Check out zyn.com find to find Zyn at a store near you. 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