Yay For Secondhand Stuff!
My girl got a set of pom poms for Christmas. Used ones, from the Goodwill store down the street.You think she liked them?
A leeeettle bit?
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It was my seven-year-old leading the charge, begging me to let him buy gifts for his brother and sister. I agreed, but I didn't want him blowing a bunch of money on stuff, nor did I want to perpetuate the Christmas Machine.
I finally decided to take each kid to the thrift shop to purchase one inexpensive gift for each of the other two siblings.
Of course, I had to get my grubby ol' hands of control in the mix. Otherwise, they would have each ended up with a life-sized, scummed up robot doll that took 87 batteries to run.
I let each kid select 5-10 gifts at the store, and then I helped "narrow it down" from there.
And if several of the toys they had picked out "mysteriously" ended up back on the shelf, what was *I* to do? It's the "Magic of Christmas."
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Come Christmas morning, the kids were so excited to present to each other the gifts they had so carefully picked out. And I was thrilled that the gifts did not come wrapped in seventeen layers of plastic and cardboard, and that we had kept some stuff from heading directly to the landfill.
Yes! Yes! You there with the hand in the air!
Oh? You want to know why I didn't go to the dollar store instead?
Good question. I have nothing against dollar stores, I assure you. But they're still stores selling
Reduce, reuse, recycle. It's a beautiful thing.
Did anyone else exchange gifts that didn't come all new and shiny from the store?
11 comments:
Oh my gosh, she is adorable!!! (I'm a little bit biased towards those cute Chinese girls...hehehe)
And I know I have told you before but YOU SO ROCK!!! You totally practice what you preach!! What a great way to let your kids give each other gifts but still have it be reasonable and eco-friendly!!
Thanks for the inspiration!!
This is such a great idea! I have young kids (7,5,3, and 1) but I love the idea of taking them to the thrift store to shop for each other. That way, they are learning to give but not breaking the bank!
I love previously used kids toys and clothing. . .it saves us so much money and the kids don't care if it's brand new or not. I am wondering how this new law, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 will affect thrift and consignment stores - it takes affect in about a month. I just heard about it yesterday for the first time.
Cindy
http://adopttaiwan.wordpress.com
My boys all made me coupon books... good for hugs, uninterrupted time (we'll see...), help with extra chores, and other fun stuff.
We try to ask the relatives for experiences/activities for gifts.
We've gotten things like annual Zoo, Museum, or Science Center memberships, tickets to live events like Cirque d'Soleil (because it's not likely that I would've sprung for that myself!), swim lessons, gymnastics, gift cards, family trips, etc.
But, I have to admit, that my boys have more Legos than some African nations...
We did a White Elephant gift exchange on DH's side at the end of the night. It was the most fun we had ALL DAY! It was hilarious - I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt.
My friends and I exchange gifts that are either from thrift stores or hand-made. We never set out to do this, we just like crafts and thrift stores. Funny how we do the popular thing to do now - not one of us is trendy :)
what a great idea!! I am going to remember that when my kiddos get older!
Yes, our gifts came from resale shops, or were handmade. and we gave the kids a water pump in Africa, too.
I gave my family copies of the children's book I wrote for my Kiddie Lit class last Spring ... complete with stick drawings by me!
The book is called "Grandpa Ate Grasshopper Legs." It's based on something that really happened with my dad and me when I was a kid, but features my dad and my niece instead.
It was a hit!
For birthdays, my kids go their own bookshelves and toy bins to pick out gifts especially for their friends. They started this idea when they were really little - and I love it! I do have to intervene on occasion to keep special treasures around - "That was the first doll I gave you, so let's look some more." Otherwise, this has been a great way to do gifts for us.
Oh, and one other thing - We did a memory box for the grandparents. The kids would pick things that reminded them of special things they did with their grandparents - a seed packet b/c they gardened together, a set of measuring spoons for all the cookies baked after school, a Christmas ornament for all the decorating they've done, etc. It was precious and produced a good amount of grateful tears!
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