Second-hand presents .. is that OK?

HappySad

1sttimer wrote:

Other than that I received a 'gift' of a safe birth of a child in Africa for mothers day. Excellent present!

That sounds like a great idea. Where do you get one of those?

lynzpower

Many of our best presents have been second hand, sometimes they have been perfect. My best mate bought a second hand globe in a charity shop for her sister adn she loved it. I buy second hand records for my OH, and of course most collectors stuff "vintage" clothing etc. Books are often fun a 1950s book of the perfect housewife was given to a mate in jest, I wish Id kept it now, could have picked up some good tips !!

pollys

My family wouldn't appreciate second hand, so last Christmas I bought recycled Grolsh glasses and "wrapped" them in an ecofriendly bag from the local Farm Shop. The presents were very well received and are in constant use. I've decided to continue buying recycled goods as presents, secondhand but in a slightly different form.

HappySad

I think that I will look at giving more secondhand presents. I will make sure that they are in perfect nick.

super41

I have recycled presents and would have no qualms about giving second hand if the gift was appropriate. Also if it helped me save money why not? No point in spending money you haven't got and getting into debt! I would be happy to recieve 2nd hand as its the thought that counts. Also as I buy a lot of 2nd hand stuff myself I'd be a bit of a hypocriete if I only expected new presents!

We often got 2nd hand presents as kids - bikes, dolls house etc. At the time probably didn't realise and were so excited with what we got that wouldn't have cared anyway! When I was 5 I was given a lovely little homemade desk (2nd hand) for birthday and I treasured it for years - also used by my 2 sisters and still going strong!( you can't say that about these modern plastic toys!!) Recently I gave it to my little girl and the joy and excitement on her face was priceless. I hope it'll give many more years of pleasure to her and hopefully other children somewhere.

I sometimes feel out of step with other people when I meet my daughter's friends and parents. The kids seem to have everything and get a lot of what they ask for. My OH and I have much different ideas. Do you think its a generation thing? We were brougt up in the 70s, money was quite limited and attitudes were different. We had our daughter later in life and so many contemporary parents were brought up in the 80s when consumerism seemed to really take off. Just a thought.

Sorry I've gone a bit off topic, but its so nice to read things from others who have similar ideas!

1sttimer_2

HappySad wrote:

That sounds like a great idea. Where do you get one of those?

Our church are doing a fundraising for Maternity Worldwide. They have a website and she may have got details from there. Try this https://www.maternityworldwide.org

tiptoes

http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com/

These also offer the gift of giving, such as cklean water for a village, etc.

kittiwoz

I don't mind getting secondhand presents. I have a lot of really good secondhand stuff that I could never afford new. I care about whether things are good quality and something I like. The worst presents are boring smellies that show the person just hasn't put any thought into it. I've had a few dud presents from my mum over the past few years which I find sad because I know she has put in thought but just doesn't know me so well anymore. That makes me feel a bit guilty too when I know she's spent a lot of money. I couldn't recycle them on to other people or sell them though because I'd feel I was betraying her.

My housemate was given a soft toy ninja mouse as a present by a mutual friend of ours because my housemates nickname is Mouse and he has a tatoo of a mouse with Samauri swords on his upper arm. I thought that was a great present because it was so suited to its recipient. My housemate thought so to, in fact so much so that he gave it to his last boyfriend as a memento of himself. I thought that was a really bad thing to do but if it had been something lame like smellies I wouldn't have cared.

HugoSP

IMO second hand gifts have their place above new when:

You cannot buy new
The item is collectable
New is too expensive, SH makes the gift affordable and it will still be appreciated by the recipient.
By buying second had you can put money towards something else for that person or the family as a whole.
You know the person will appreciate the gift.
The inspiration takes you, but it may be an extra gift not birthday or Christmas

When I was getting married I saw the most amaizing coffee set in excellent condition in a charity shop in Edinborough. I thought my best man would like it as he had recently bought his first house, so I went in and bought it, all for a few quid! As far as I know he still has it.

Until then I was stuck for a present for him.

H

HugoSP

A recent gift I was given was a camorder from my dad. He had used it a few times and had not got on with it.

It was as a thankyou for doing most of the work on a will after the person passed away. He could have afforded new but his attitude was that he'd rather save his money and pass on something that he just didn't want.

I really did not mind. I was chuffed to bits.

H