Collectible piggy banks

The piggy bank is the oldest of clever gifts: an object you look at every day, and a first lesson in saving that never feels like a lesson. At L'Oiseau de Paradis, it also has a face: Asterix, Obelix or Dogmatix for the Gauls, Harry Potter for the wizards, One Piece, Dragon Ball, Goldorak, Captain Tsubasa, the DC Comics heroes, the Smurfs, Gaston Lagaffe, Lucky Luke, Spirou, The Little Prince, Naruto or Miraculous: every universe has its own.

Most of them come from Pixi Plastoy, the French maker specialising in figurines and collectibles of the great heroes of comics and pop culture. Expect around twenty euros for the classic models, more for the large pieces that work as decoration as much as money boxes, like the Smurfs' mushroom house or Gaston's taxi.

It is a gift that works at every age: children drop in their first coins, teenagers recognise their hero, collectors see a display piece. Grandparents who slip in a coin at every visit keep the ritual going long after the birthday.

And if you are passing through Paris, the full selection awaits in our shop at 211 boulevard Saint-Germain, where we have been advising on gifts since 1932.