Never pay to full amount upfront.
Usually, when I do a website for a new client I ask 30% upfront and the rest when I finish the job.
I would never start a job without a small upfront payment. So many time the clients changed his mind after I started the job or simply They would stop...
It's doesn't matter that you send it as a gift. Paypal will immediately cancel the transaction if they see that you logged in from another country. I done this dirty trick multiple times when I was young to buy virtual money in a game ...