does anyone give garage sale gifts?

[mommiepoppins]

I bought a ton of toys for my 1 year old son at a garage sale I was thinking about giving him some toys for Christmas and his birthday. Is that to cheep?

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I could not do it, but I am sure some people will be ok with it. How much do you normally spend on him? Perhaps give his parents some cash to put in his savings account and then just give hime some of the toys to play with on that day.

My sister wanted my son's old Ipod touch to give to her son from us for his birthday. My son hadn't used it in ages as he has an ipone. I gave it to her and told her she could have it. For some reason she wrapped it up and gave it to her son from us. He was very happy, but I was mortified. He told me mom who called and yelled at me. I told her I mailed a check and just gave them the Ipod. I guess that is just how my mom and I roll.

I have no problem with used items, and probably a used car would be ok, but other than that I either write checks or buy something new for presents. Used items I just give to people who need them.

 

[Maleficent53]

He won't know the difference, and if you don't tell anyone where they came from, others won't have to know either. Go for it! Take the money you saved and put it in his bank account.

BTW-my kids are now grown but garage sale shopping was how they got many of their "new" clothes over their early years. You can get such good deals at sales on practically new things, and I went out shopping almost weekly during the warm months.

I have also purchased brand new-never used items at sales and gifted them to people. When it is something they want, do they need to know you didn't buy it at a store?

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I bought a ton of toys for my 1 year old son at a garage sale I was thinking about giving him some toys for Christmas and his birthday. Is that to cheep?

If it's in the original box and looks like it hasn't been touched, I have no problems pretending that I bought it at the store. If it is OBVIOUSLY used, then I would never give it as a b'day or any other holiday gift - I'd just give it as an "I saw this at a yard sale and thought you'd like it so here ya go just because I love you" gift.

 

[angierae]

The OP said these were gifts for their own son. I have bought my daughter used video games and given them to her, but she knew they were used and didn't care. Honestly, if I were to have a 1-5 year old child again, 90% of what they wore/played with would be from garage sales/mom to mom sales, so I wouldn't have a problem giving them a few garage sale finds for a gift. (I wouldn't make that ALL they got, but kids like toys, and who cares if that expensive playhouse was brand new or used?!)

 

[mommiepoppins]

It is for my OWN child who is one . I am single mother now ( I have older children) I was with this just thinking how to save money

 

[vet1999]

Yes, yes and yes! I wouldn't think wtwice to give my son something I bought from a garage sale. He is 1. He has no clue. My son is 8 now and I can't remember the last time I gave him a real Christmas present gift. We put a lot of thought into his Santa gift now, but back when he didn't understand gifts, we didn't get him anything. He got SO MUCH from my DH's and my family that it gets lost in translation and he doesn't even recognize the difference. Don't feel guilty. IMHO.

 

[vet1999]

P.S. All he cares about is that you love him!

 

[chimilady]

Anything that can be washed we get at flea markets. Clothes, stuffed animals, etc. I've never given flea market stuff for Xmas or birthdays, but I have saved them for other gifts like dance recital, or gold start at school, etc. type gifts.

 

[kellyjeanie]

I have for my kids, especially my youngest. I should have done it more for my older kids too, they don't care, especially at that age! As long as it's clean and in good, working condition what's the difference? Great way to save money.

 

[secretpantssam]

I say go for it!

I will also note that my husband and I very often buy each other gifts from the thrift store. We're big fans of vintage stuff and I am much happier knowing that 1. he saved money on a gift for me and 2. that we were reusing something so it's better for the environment.

 

[Disneylover99]

It is for my OWN child who is one . I am single mother now ( I have older children) I was with this just thinking how to save money

Of course you should do this and don't feel bad or guilty about it!

My son's birthday is in October. When he turned two he wasn't interested in opening any of his birthday presents from me. So they sat there unopened. At Christmas I put these same gifts in a Christmas bag and he was interested in opening them then. Saved me a lot of money!

 

[Marionnette]

It is for my OWN child who is one . I am single mother now ( I have older children) I was with this just thinking how to save money

1-year olds don't know anything different and their birthday is just another day to them. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with buying garage sale toys for your baby and giving them for birthday or Christmas. But if you have a limited budget and older children, then I would focus on giving the baby new things he needs (clothing, shoes, teething rings, etc.) and passing the older children's outgrown toys down to him.

However, I would not give used items as special occasion gifts to an older child because a child who does "without" the rest of the year should be made to feel special on their day.

 

[gemini2727]

Good for you for finding a bargain, and recycling...he'll love the toys just the same, I wouldn't think twice about it. Do it now while you can, lol!

 

[pittsburghmom]

I bought a ton of toys for my 1 year old son at a garage sale I was thinking about giving him some toys for Christmas and his birthday. Is that to cheep?

Yep! I just did this weekend. My ds7 loves Star Wars and I found a toy Millenuim Falcon + all the figures/accessories for $14. This will be his birthday gift. I have no problem doing this and my kids could care less. Go for it and enjoy the savings!

 

[wilkeliza]

Don't feel bad about it for one second. My mom was a single mom and had 3 of us. On birthdays, Christmas, Easter etc it was always a mix of garage sell, thrift store, and new toys. She had a budget and tried to stick to it. She also typically shopped all year so if she saw something on a great sale that we would enjoy she bought it and put it away. It was always great when the Disney store had crazy clearance or Wal-Mart or Target did. She could get us lots of things with her small budget. Typically 100 for the major days (Christmas and birthday) and 20 or less each for the lower days Easter, valentines etc. One birthday year she let me combine Christmas and Birthday so I got a gameboy with several used gameboy games. A few years later she let all 3 of us pool out big money together and got us a play station. It taught us about working with in a budget and hey we never realized how little we had because to us we had a lot especially a lot of love.

 

[Crystal824]

I wouldn't have a problem with it. I probably wouldn't give anyone else a used gift, but for my own kid, who is 1, heck yeah. In fact, we got my DD for her first birthday a used swing set.

 

[firecracker725]

I think it's a fine plan. Similarly, we plan on taking toys put in storage and wrapping them up for our new little one to open on her first birthday. Lord knows we don't need additional toys, and our girls don't even remember them at this point.

 

[scrapquitler]

The OP said these were gifts for their own son. I have bought my daughter used video games and given them to her, but she knew they were used and didn't care. Honestly, if I were to have a 1-5 year old child again, 90% of what they wore/played with would be from garage sales/mom to mom sales, so I wouldn't have a problem giving them a few garage sale finds for a gift. (I wouldn't make that ALL they got, but kids like toys, and who cares if that expensive playhouse was brand new or used?!)

Absolutely agree with the above. He's ONE year old and he's the OP's son. He's not going to know the difference, and he's not going to care anyway.

 

[tinkermom23]

I say yes, go for it!
I do this for our kids and for DH too! He appreciates whenever I can save our family money and we both agree that our kids have plenty of stuff!
Grandma came across an awesome garage sale with tons of lego sets really cheap. My boys look forward to another set from grandma every year!