Got a letter from my landlord this morning...

alasia

Or have a look out for your local NCT sale, or next school fair. I've sold loads of toys at the NCT, in great condition, for between 50p & £3 pounds. The £3 ones were huge expensive presents that probably cost the giver over £30. Played with for 6 months, then abandoned for the next fad.

Youre right - I never even thought of trying the NCT, I will have a look for local sales...I was brought up by my mum being very anti "second hand" and I think if I bought the kids birthday presents that werent new, she would think badly of me, thats why Ive shied away from doing that so far.

Then again, its my life and its not like Id be getting them dirty, broken toys - children especially toddlers get bored of things so quickly that they would be almost new.

Ive also noticed a couple of things on ebay from the tesco and argos outlets that are cheaper than buying from the shops, so Im sure the kids will get something AND we will still have money to save for the LL/deposit

kidcat

Alasia - re kids toys, my kids have way too much and I regularly sort out and pass stuff on either via freecycle or though a local parent and toddler group and I know many parents do similar. If you possibly find a local group to attend with your little ones that will give them access to loads of stuff they wouldnt have at home and give you access to other parents and resources too. The group I used to tun would swap toys week to week to avoid kids getting bored of them same stuff too.

ViolaLass

It's just an idea, but when my husband was the same age as your children, his parents were very poor and couldn't afford presents. However, for birthdays etc, they had a large cardboard box, strong enough for him to sit on, with a cardboard 'back' to it - this was his throne, his special chair that came out only for special occasions and was freshly decorated each time, usually with some wrapping paper.

It's the only childhood present he remembers.

Maybe you could start a family tradition - they're the things I remember mostly fondly too e.g. at Christmas, it was MY job to blow out the candles on the tree (I'm the baby of four so it was a big deal to get to do it on my own).

sharkie

alasia wrote: »

... so is the tv license.

Personally, I would not buy one, 'cause without a house there is no where to watch a tv! Then 90% you are paying for repeats anyway. Just switch it off!!!


"The OP will have to sell the TV and be able to provide proof that she has done so. " Not true, just unplug it from the mains and ariel too.

Hopefully your husband has some redundancy money.

neverdespairgirl

alasia wrote: »

Youre right - I never even thought of trying the NCT, I will have a look for local sales...I was brought up by my mum being very anti "second hand" and I think if I bought the kids birthday presents that werent new, she would think badly of me, thats why Ive shied away from doing that so far.

Maybe this is something you should think about - there's nothign wrong with second-hand, provided the condition's OK. It's recycling!

DVardysShadow

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I think you'll find that just actually owning a TV means you are obliged to buy a license. Not actually using the TV doesn't count. The OP will have to sell the TV and be able to provide proof that she has done so.

That tends towards the absurd. What if the TV is so broken that no one will buy it? That would mean that anyone who ever had the misfortune to have a TV breakdown irreparably would have to buy a TV licence for ever.

sunshinetours

Just to reiterate what others have said about second hand toys. Ours are lucky enough (not sure that is the right words actually) to have far too many toys and we also have a regular clear out and recycle toys to friends who are having kids or charity shops or very occassionally a boot sale.
We also sometimes visit our lcoal large boot sale and the kids love being able to choose something with their money and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. If its plastic or wood it will probably clean up as new just fine. I would avoid cuddlies personally but many of these can even be washed up just fine

Also places like Tesco/Asda have very cheap colouring books and pencils that I am sure they will enjoy for less than a pound. If you have any friends / family who can print stuff off for you then print off the colouring pictures and activities on sites like Cbeebies. You obviously have internet so also get them used to sites like the Cbeebies sites where there are games and activities for all ages

Good on you for getting things started