Used items for presents!! Yes or No??

bylromarha

Went through DDs room last week to give her a clear out - found a couple of good looking books that a nephew is going to get for Cmas. He'll love them, they look new. No probs!

YORKSHIRELASS

Yes definitely. Have bought things off ebay second hand for my kids for Christmas. In fact I admire anyone for considering this, and its far smarter than those people putting it on the credit cards.

My eldest got an IPod touch for Xmas last year which cost £180. My youngest saved his birthday money and got a 2nd hand one for £85 off ebay. They have both done exactly the same job and after a few months use you wouldnt know the difference.

deb68_2

I got nearly everything from ebay,an charity shops for my 3 sons, ds girlfriend,my 2 brothers,niece,an sil
everything in excellent condition,
we are going do a food hamper for ds1 an girlfriend they are now living together will try get them bag of coal as well

I understand what you are saying about your daughter my niece is the same even at 21
she has a choice be grateful an except what we have gotten her or not to
I hope we have shown our lads how to be thrifty an os,it does seem to be getter harder for people with peer pressure
im sure you will get an find some lovely things for your 2
all the best
deb

barbiedoll

Of course it's fine! I never had a brand-new bike and nor did my DH. I had a second-hand dolls pram (my most treasured possession for years!) and my DS has had loads of second-hand stuff, even as a baby. I bought him a play kitchen from a charity shop, he's had lots of second-hand trains and cars and I rarely bought him new books, I simply couldn't afford them.

If you feel a bit guilty, just remember that everytime you, or someone else, reuses a toy, computer, iPod, book or bicycle, it is one less item for landfill and is helping to save the planet. That's my excuse anyway!

patchwork_cat

I was thinking no then when you said it was your kids and the ages, I thought a second hand xbox game for example, yes no problem.I think it depends what it is and that it is pristine

djdido2

Yeah of course, there is the Earth Mother in me too which would want to reuse stuff simply for recycling purposes. Of course I will be buying new presents too but thought it would be useful to grab cheaper bargains as I am really really broke. If I gave them something that was not pristine they would be sure to ask questions and I am not proud but I would feel guilty.

moomoomama27

I remember, now we're on the subject, that my best christmas present ever was a bike! It was second hand, but my Mum lovingly repainted it, and put a massive bow on it! I know she felt guilty it wasn't new, she told me years later, it was the first Christmas for her as a single Mum, but I didn't care a bit! I wanted a bike, and a bike I got!

barbiedoll

You can easily tart up stuff if it's in a tatty box. You can buy new boxes for cd's, video games and dvd's or do what we've done and just swap the box for a better one that you already have at home!

What sort of things are you looking at buying second-hand? There's bound to be someone on here who will know how to make things look as good as new. For stuff like phones and iPods, you can pay a few quid to get the screen polished or even replaced, and you can pay £1 in Gamestation to get game discs/dvds polished up like new. You can even get boxes for branded goods on ebay, people sell boxes that their phones came in, sometimes with the leads, software discs, manuals etc etc.

Where there's a will, there's a (MSE) way!

split_second

we have a place near here that refurbishes second hand cds/dvds etc, my friends are getting stuff from there. 3 dvd's for £5? go on then, plus i can give mutual friends same amounts and they will think i raided the 2 for £10 section in hmv haha

bacardi66

I don't see anything wrong with it at all - I bought my niece a massive load of 2nd hand Sylvanians stuff from ebay - she was so delighted and didn't realise or comment on it being 2nd hand (she is 7) not sure if older kids would realise or care. But ebay is great for big lots of 2nd hand toys like lego, Peppa Pig etc

When I was a kid we had 2nd hand bikes and toys my mum got us from jumble sales charity shops - and we loved them!

If you want to buy them new stuff as well its worth keeping an eye on the Grabbit board here as I have bought some fantastic presents for kids and teenagers with great reductions.