Do You Buy Second Hand Gifts for Christmas?

[dustybinlydia]

Ds will be 10 months old at Christmas. Just going through my list of gifts and have realised that, due to my great love of Ebay, quite a bit of it will be second hand. I am happy with his gifts they look new, some of these toys have been discontinued in the shops , and he will be 10 months old so clearly won't care.

Just wondered if others did this

DH got a brilliant steering wheel and foot pedal set of EBay he added to the Xbox. That's the only time 2nd had stuff has been wrapped for the DDs.

But vehicle mad DD2 had miles of old happy street track that they'd stopped making of EBay.

I have heaps of wooden train track and a dolls house to sell on.

I would certainly have bought wooden track on EBay if the DDs had been a few years younger and not had a generous aunt.

We've had second had DS games too.

DHs 50th present was a second hand underwater video camera he can dive with. He has had heaps of other tech stuff over the years much of it second hand or factory returns that has come out his gift budget.

Absolutely! I picked up an immaculate ELC wooden market stall for £6 via eBay last Christmas for the DC to share. The previous Christmas I picked up an IKEA wooden doll's bed for 99p (eBay again) and the year before that a huge box of plan toys wooden road and vehicles for very little money.

This year I'm hoping to pick up a puppet theatre and blow the money I've saved on extra puppets and props!

Yes.
I used to plunder NCT nearly new sales for "extra" gifts.
We also always buy bikes second hand. Sell the outgrown one and buy a bigger one - the cash from selling pretty much covers the cost of the replacement.

Definitely. I do it for everyone- my mom had had beautiful brooches (her favourite thing), my husband has had fantasic books and my son has had immaculate toys (often still in unopened packaging). I also try to get something for my sister too as she completely looks down on second hand, so it gives me a secret sense of satisfaction (love her dearly but she can be quite snobby!).

I only get things that are genuinely great gifts though for that person- not just some second hand tat that I try to pass off as a expensive present!

Yes of course, particularly things that aren't getting made anymore.

My 2yo loves Wreck It Ralph and there was no way I was going to buy everything in original packaging from collector's - crazy money. On the other side, second hand t-shirt, looks pretty much perfect. Awesome.

yes of course if something is in excellent/v.g.c im happy to give to my children as gifts and have done for my sons first xmas i bought about 4 new special items rest was second hand was a huge toy bundle for £25 and gave him like 25 presents that year

God yes. My DC love a rummage around charity shops themselves (9 and 6) so never mind second hand things.

Sometimes it's the only way to get what they want. There's not a lot of bigfoot and yeti toy figures around so I've had to resort to ebay.

Yes definitely! Ds1 is getting a 2nd hand xbox 360 for Xmas, he won't care one little bit, to be honest, I'd be disappointed if he did care that it wasn't brand new!

Last week, I bought 2 games from the charity shop, junior monopoly and junior scrabble, £1.99 each. That's a saving of about £20, they are all complete and the boxes aren't perfect but not bad at all.

Love a charity shop/2nd hand find.

Yes - dh works in the antiques trade, so would be odd if we didn't embrace the second hand! I also kinda think it's better for the environment. Books, clothes, toys, ornaments - everything really. We love vintage stuff! Our families all accept it, and mostly seem to embrace it.

yes even though dc are now teens somethings like games and books if in very good condition are 2nd hand. They don't mind at all.

Yes, we got the kids a wii for Christmas last year from Gumtree and I know a couple of friends who did the same. Luckily the one we bought was in excellent condition in the original packaging with lots of games all still in their boxes so it looked new to the kids. Saved us a fortune!

Looks like it's something that a lot of people do then.

I think in this current climate, it is a necessity for some, rather than an option.

I think in this current climate, it is a necessity for some, rather than an option.

Yes for my dc and dh but not others. We love charity shops/car boot sales !

Yes, DD's main present this year is second hand.
The favourite toy of both DD & DS is a secondhand Noah's Ark I got at a car boot sale and is never put away!

Oh, and I love getting second hand books as presents, there's something really special about a pre-loved book

Yes, because it's a crazy waste of resources to only buy new things when there are perfectly good second hand things around. But it has to be something that the person actually wants (I'm not keen on ornaments and tat)

This year I have bought DS (8) a used e-reader on FB, he will love it as he's always wanting to read my kindle. I did think twice about re-gifting a little truck for a friends DS on his first birthday and texted her to check that it was ok (it was a lovely little truck in perfect condition).

Do you not know, Father Christmas sends his elves round all the houses this time of year to see if there are any toys that never get played with anymore. He then gives them to other boys and girls who would like them on Christmas Day.

Absolutely. Purchases this year so far:

A vintage print of a dog that looks like my mums', (will reframe before giving)

A charm for my SIL's bracelet; looks new, in original box. Less than half the price of a new one.

And best of all, a huge, hideous Barbie house for DD. Excellent condition, all furniture included, original box thrown in and, best of all, someone else has put the monstrosity together . Cost me £36 - they are £90 - £100 new.

On the lookout for more preloved stuff now!

Absolutely! A large proportion of the DSes presents are secondhand. DS2 & 3 are too little to notice (3 & 7 months) & DS1 knows but doesn't care.

This year I have bought DS2's main Christmas present for a FB sales site - it is the Happyland train set, but minus the station, which we already have. The whole lot would cost £50 at ELC, I paid £10 & it has barely been played with! He also got a whole stack of Happyland - about 5 shops, the station, some train track & a storage box, all working - for his 3rd birthday in April. It cost £25 from the charity shop. It is one of the DSes most played-with toys & I can see it lasting at least another 5 years as DS3 gets big enough to play with it, too I'd rather buy them quality secondhand toys like this than spend the same amount on new stuff & not get such good quality items.

I don't tend to buy secondhand for people outside the 5 of us, unless I come across something brand new, such as the giant jigsaw puzzle I bought my grandparents one year.

Toys for dd when she was little, yes, absolutely. She didn't care whether her Playmobil circus, for example, was second hand from ebay, and she wouldn't have been getting it if I'd had to buy new!

DH is very happy with second hand books, lovely 2nd hand tools (latter probably falls into 'vintage' category), I also love 2nd hand books & fabulous charity shop finds vintage clothes or hats and am always happy to receive them :) To me the perfect 2nd hand or hand made gift from someone I love shows time and thought, which is what it's about really, isn't it. (I realise not all people feel like this, and am careful in my gift giving the other way!)

Lego's are so damn expensive! I keep an eye out for any second hand sets in excellent condition. My dd does not know or care if they were previously played with :)

it is the Happyland train set, but minus the station, which we already have. The whole lot would cost £50 at ELC, I paid £10 & it has barely been played with!

i sold a huge huge box of elc train track,buldings, signals a few figures, and loads of trains and carriages and things to attach for 15 quid at a baby sale.

No not personally, it's not something that sits right with me, however clearly loads of people do and have found some fab bargins and had some happy little one's, why not at 10months they wont have a clue.