How Do You Feel About Recycled Gifts for Kids from Santa?

I heard that Santa is all about being green and recycling. Don't you remember that division at the North Pole that fixes the broken toys so that some child will love it?

It doesn't matter if they are 2 or 20. There isn't anything wrong with recycled gifts if they are in good condition. Sounds like two great gifts.

I don't see one thing wrong with it? I mean really, what could be wrong with that?

Still in good shape, keeps it out of the landfill potentially, good for your bank account, and your kid really won't care.

And in the future, you are teaching your child an appreciation for things other than "shiny and new".

Oh trust me your kids will love that - if its a bit tattered and torn just say the elves lived in it and decided to give it to them because they were so good. Kids dont know the value of new/used things until they are closer to 6yrs of age.

Go for it! It will make their day im sure!

Good luck

Jump all over that one!! Look what Santa brought!! At 2 I don't think she is going to care that they are gently used by someone else. All of our big outdoor stuff is hand me down. I tell my kids those are the best!

Heck no there's nothing wrong with that. It actually makes more sense. Reuse!! Kids grow out of toys so fast that it's not worth spending a ton of money on new gadgets that will inevitably get tossed to the side. Good for you and your daughter for "going green with gifts"!!
K.

if you have people telling you there's something wrong with this, they are not your friends and sound like snobs to me! my child is three and we rarely spend more than $40-$50 on him for birthdays and holidays, oftentimes less depending on our finances. if your daughter is 2 i guarantee she won't even notice. you don't mention how old your other child is, but let me tell you, i was raised to be grateful for what i got, and i was. it is NOT about how much you spend. take this as a blessing and RUN - these are things you won't have to spend big bucks on later. happy holidays!!

How wonderful that you have such good friends! Appreciate it & so will your daughter! Even in Rudolph there's the land of misfit toys. It's all part of the season.

Carla,

I don't see a problem. I would remove any identifying marks that might tip your friend's kids off that this was once their toy. While a two year old won't pay much attention to the age or condition of the toy older children might notice. With a good cleaning and replacement decals from the manufacturer to replace any damaged ones everything should look as good as new.

My husband and I both have refurbished older toys for gifts. I once took an old doll of mine to a Doll hospital and had it refurbished with new hypoallergenic stuffing to give to my daughter at age three, which was the same age I had it as a child.

Best wishes,

J.

There is nothing wrong with that! Now and days you take what you get and your happy with it. At 2 I can tell you they still don't understand the whole concept my daughters almost 3 and is just now getting it. Have a great Christmas.

Would definitely do it! I have even purchased refurbished video game systems for older children. If you can't tell, who cares, save the money you would have spent for unexpected expenditures down the road or for a head start on next Christmas! If there wasn't money for Xmas to begin with, be thankful it's not going on a credit card & your daughter has two REALLY NICE gifts. Have a Merry Christmas!

I don't see anything wrong with it...I'd just make sure that either a) the kids you are getting it from don't realize YOU are getting it (they might let on about Santa), or b) have a plausible excuse about it...they didn't use/outgrew ect. Santa fixed them up and knew they were just perfect for you! Santa was the first to "recycle" toys so why not?

Last year my son got recycled toys and was told that the reason was because some of them were no longer being made so Santa had to go to the little boys houses who no longer played with them so that he could get all of the characters in the collection he wanted...some were new but A LOT were used. He was cool with it...to the point that he even started making a pile in his room of stuff he could give Santa to recycle (now ain't THAT something??)!!!! LOL

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, unless your friend is giving it as a gift to your daughter, in which case, not acknowleding the gift would be rude. If your friend is just cleaning out the garage and handing items down, then go for it!

Absolutely nothing wrong with used toys!

Kids don't care. And they might when they are older, but not if what they're used to. My daughter gets almost nothing new from us...garage sales, hand me downs, etc, including clothes. Even for Christmas and birthdays. She's three. She could care less. She gets a lot more toys that way. We can't afford to buy new, plus some toys don't end up getting used much anyway.

I personally have done this for the past two Christmas's and will be doing it again this year... I personally feel it is more about the giving than what the gift is, ans as long as it is in great shape, why not!

She is "2" says it all! My two year old will Still be more impressed with the boxes, bows and wrappiong paper. In fact I spent almost half on my 2 year old that I spent on his older sister. Christmas was Never supposed to be about what you spend, or what you can afford, or maxing out credit cards...she will love the gifts I am sure. I have a friend that does 90% of her Christmas shopping through the summer months when she can find bargains at garage sales and an occassional splurge on ebay. She also dresses her 3 girls nearly all in hand me down or gently used clothing and they never care or even notice a difference, they always look impeccable. Don't stress and don't worry about what others say or think...have a very Merry Christmas and as it sounds your daughter is getting an incredible Christmas as well = )
B.

Hi Carla,
Not only, do I give hand me down gifts from others, I also have been known to give my kids hand me down gifts from themselves. For instance, normally at birthdays they have an abdundance of gifts and what not, so instead of allowing my kids to open all of the gifts at once, I normally will put a few back and save for Christmas. Let's face it, they are still at age where they don't remember (4,2) and with the economy being as it is, it is a very smart and practical way of doing things. With big ticket items like you are getting, I think that it is a wonderful idea. K. W

Good Morning Carla, I personally think it is a Great Idea..
You could repaint the house (if its wood) and make it your own. Put some big Red bows on it and Wala it's ready!!
I would do it in a heart beat. Awesome friends you have.

God Bless you,
K. Nana of 5

I think it is a perfect idea to save money and still be able to purchase items for your kids. I still purchase "nearly new" items off of ebay for my 4 year old for Christmas every year, and he doesn't think anything of it. All he cares is that the item is there to play with, not whether it has a tag on it.

I say do the hand-me-downs till you cannot get away with it any longer, say in 5 years or so. Save the money and spend it on them when they are teens and will actually complain about used items!

You know what, this same thing has been brought to me this year. My 1 year old son LOVES cars, any kind of cars. I told my girlfriend that Im going to buy him a bunch of cars for Christmas, and she said the her 4 year old boy has TONS of perfect cars that he never plays with. I have mixed emotions about it, but since hes so young, I might go ahead and do it. My daughter will be getting a lot of things for Christmas and since my son will care less about it, I just wanted things to look even for both of them.. I would say, go for it. Why spend the money if someone has a perfectly good toy taking up space. I have never even thought about it before my friend said something. This year I think I will get away with it!! Merry Christmas!! =)

My opinion is go for it! Just because they are gently used by another child it is still "new" to your child. I am on a fixed income due to a disability and also a single parent and I have no problems giving my 11 year old son and my 2 year old grand daughter gently used items. If they aint ragedy u can gift them from santa the kids don't care where they actually came from just that they have the gift. Besides how will they really know where it came from unless u tell them? JMO

oh honey it is perfectly fine. I am a huge fan of Craigslist and i have found about half of my son's santa gifts from there, i just clean everything and wrap it all up. He is 2 also and when he opens things that are new, i have to open the package and take it out, so wrapping things that are already de-packaged is wonderful, and it is so much cheaper and in this day and age. and you can do it when she gets older too, you can just explain to her that it was easier to wrap without the package or make something up, they are children, they are just thrilled to be gettting the toys. good luck!