To get rid of most my kid's toys/games/dress-up?

[beckyt12345]

We're moving house soon (downsizing) & I'm thinking of getting rid of 90% of my kid's toys - we have an 8, 5 & 3 yr old.
The in-laws love language is gifts & they're always buying them toys, without checking what they already have & wether or not they would play with them.
My kid's literally play with NONE of their toys. They prefer to get pots & pans out, play on the Xbox etc. I'm wondering if they're feeling overwhelmed with too much 'stuff'? We currently have a large house which includes a play-room but nobody 'plays' in the room. They'll sometimes drag toys out of their to put in other rooms.
AIBU to get rid of nearly all their toys? I'm finding all the 'stuff' is giving me anxiety too. I either have to clean or tidy or trip over the stuff all day long which seems to take away from quality time I could be spent playing with the kids.
What's everyone's thoughts? Do they really need toys to have a happy childhood???

Sounds sensible to declutter. Less is more with toys I think. Makes it easier for you to clean and tidy, less stuff for the kids. I find my DD plays with more toys when there is less out.

We did a declutter and we got my eldest involved going through them and letting her decide. Whilst it wasn't as effective this way, she actually found things she wanted to play with she completely forgot about and enjoyed the memories.

My daughter recently asked if I still had the cloak she wore in her Year 2 nativity play, which I'd made out of the velvet curtains that were in our house when we moved in. Her friend wanted to borrow it for a fancy dress. I did still have it. My daughter is now 26.

I used to do toy rotation when my DCs were younger - they had about 6 or 8 boxes (Kallax type size) out at a time plus all the Lego (in drawers) and then every few months I'd swap them over. So they had EITHER the Duplo trains OR the Little People farm but not both, and a selection of plastic animals, a selection of small wooden toys, about 1/4 of the games and puzzles they owned.
If something wasn't missed and then wasn't played with when it came back, we got rid. But often they appreciated things when they came back out!

My DD still does this with her teddies (so now she can actually get in the bed...) she's 9.

I’d get rid of the Xbox and some of the toys. They're still very young children, playing with toys is important for their development, video games shouldn’t be prioritised over that. You’ll probably find they play with the toys if they can’t be glued to a screen.

You sound overwhelmed! Yes you’ll have to get rid of some of the toys when you downsize.

I don’t think you can just chuck everything though! You’ll have to go through it all and make decisions based on each child’s needs.

A 3yo in in particular still has many many toy-miles to travel, don’t allow the Xbox to be a replacement, I think that’s a bit sad for them.

Thank you everyone! Some great ideas in there. I probably should have clarified that only my 8 yr old plays the Xbox. He prefers to play games like hide-&-seek, in the garden, board games etc rather than toys 🙈