Recycled christmas pressies for 2008

postingalwaysposting

well i usually do this but this year i am not planning for xmas *shock horror* i have decided this year i will save and buy it all online in october. So the set of small candles i got ~ i dont do candles ~ will go to the charity shop and the smellies someone brought me my mum has nicked :rotfl: everything else is practical or somethings i can use which i find is the best thing

rose_sparky

If they're smallish items I use them for next year's parlour game prizes, I sometimes split up toiletry sets for the same thing.

We've had great fun today playing silly games and my big basket of wrapped prizes went down really well!

BigMummaF

Phew...thought it was me being ungrateful til I read this thread:o

Must admit that I've usually kept stuff for years, then dug them out for school fetes & other raffle type prizes cuz I too have sensitive skin & don't do smellies:p

Now the offspring are all grown, we've limited spending to £20pp for the past couple of years & it means that we get the things we actually want:D

furrypig

Excellent idea to recycle presents, I would hate to ask someone for a receipt to exchange something so would either pass it on to someone else, donate it to a charity shop or use it at a school fair. My kids are getting savvy about this and when my daughter got a duplicate cd for her birthday I said we would give it to someone else and she asked me for the money for it!

Turtle

I've done this a few times, don't see the problem. Have currently got 2 foot care sets from boots that I'd like to pass on (nice, but already got loads of this type of stuff). Can't think of anyone that they are really appropriate for though so will no doubt go as donations for raffles or something. Best to pass things on and make use than waste them or leave languishing in a cupboard or something.

sarah.l.smith22

Any toiletries except E45 and Aqueous cream cause horrible itchy rash, so all of those presents are recycled to those who can enjoy them. Sometimes I wonder if anyone listens really, I have been allergic to these things for years yet still get loads every Christmas and Birthday!

play2day

I will be regifting or donating:

• 3 smellies sets - as with other posters I have allergies

• A lemon crocheted scarf (I have sallow skin- very bad colour but pretty otherwise)

• A pair of drop diamante earings that are better suited to a young teenagerand are nickel backed (again allergies) plus I only ever wear a wedding ring

• A mock snakeskin travel wallet in shiny bronze - yes, really!:eek:

• A Coronation Street quiz DVD - I never watch soaps

• Blank video cassettes - we only have a DVD recorder

• Chocolates, biscuits and sweets - I struggle to maintain weight & have a diabetic child.

• A jumper - 4 sizes too big

• A hand made shawl in neon pink (I'm 35)

• A basket full of inappropriate toys (given to child with severe learning difficulties)

I just wonder why people send these things? Surely they could ask, put more thought or effort into it, make a donation to a charity on our behalf or just not bother?
Yes I know I sound ungreatful but I have explained to my family many times about allergies etc and asked that they donate to charity instead if they are 'stuck' for what to buy me.
Also for child with SLD we make a list of gifts under £5 and put them on seperate paper into a hat so anyone who asks and wants to buy something he can use can pull out an idea from the hat with details on where to buy it and know it will be a wanted surprise. It is no secret most toys are taken away as soon as they are unwrapped as often it has to be done immediately in front of the donor for safety reasons. (This year he got a microscope set with glass slides and scalpels included. He has the understanding of a 1yr old. Thoughtless and dangerous - Thanks MIL... not... then she complains to DH that I took the gift away!!!:mad:)

TheDoolallyDilly

Aw play2day - I feel your pain - I have a son with SLD, too, and I do wonder why people just don't ask me what he would like/what would be suitable.

I often regift things - I seem to be given a lot of those metal bookmarks shaped like hooks that always fall out of books, and smellies I don't like (I can use some stuff, but not Body Shop or Lush, as I am allergic), and pink things, when I hate, loathe and detest pink!! Quite a lot goes to the school for their summer fair tombola, or is regifted to the other side of the family.

undercover_angel

I'm glad this as been posted because now I know I'm not the only one who has done it!
I was trying to find a home for all my new Christmas pressies this morning and I just thought..."I really don't NEED this smelly set/box of chocolates/chocolate mug e.t.c."
So I got a big plastic box (that had all my hamper pressies in for this year before they were wrapped) and piled in the stuff I am never going to use, I stuck a sticky label on each item stating whom they were from so that I don't give them back to that person next year.
Afterwards I felt really guilty and ungrateful, but now seeing that you guys all do it too has made me feel loads better! Thanks!

sophiesmum_2

as an ardent moneysaver i am feeling a little disappointed that I don't have any gifts this year to recycle:o
For the first time in ages I actually got things given to me that i really like:D

However all is not lost as DD has a few things that she will not be wanting:D