does anyone give garage sale gifts?

[QVCshopper]

I bought an American Girl bitty baby for $2 at a garage sale. It was in like-new condition. I got a new sleeper for the doll and gave it to my baby girl for her first birthday. So cute to watch her snuggle her baby all the time, she couldn't care less that it was used.

 

[pocomom]

For my own kids absolutely! We do handmade gifts, garage sale/thrift store/used gifts and new gifts for all holidays. I'm trying to teach my kids you can be thoughtful and generous regardless of your budget. My seven year old's favorite gift from Christmas last year was a hand me down smartphone. We got a new case for it at five below. for the older kids I do tend to save thrift store/yard sale clothes for "just because" and buy new for holidays, but toys electronics, anything in great condition is fair game. And the kids know they have gotten some things we couldn't or wouldn't have gotten them new and it frees up more money for other things they want, so they love it. And at 1, 2,3 it is really just about having something to open. Little kids couldn't care less about whether something is new. The box is normally the most exciting part

 

[danielle79]

For my own kids absolutely! We do handmade gifts, garage sale/thrift store/used gifts and new gifts for all holidays. I'm trying to teach my kids you can be thoughtful and generous regardless of your budget. My seven year old's favorite gift from Christmas last year was a hand me down smartphone. We got a new case for it at five below. for the older kids I do tend to save thrift store/yard sale clothes for "just because" and buy new for holidays, but toys electronics, anything in great condition is fair game. And the kids know they have gotten some things we couldn't or wouldn't have gotten them new and it frees up more money for other things they want, so they love it. And at 1, 2,3 it is really just about having something to open. Little kids couldn't care less about whether something is new. The box is normally the most exciting part

I agree with this completely! When they are young they don't know where you bought it nor do they care! Most babies would rather play in an empty cardboard box than the $100 gift that came inside of it! I have a seven year old who does not care that 90% of her clothes are hand me downs! I have a 15 year old and that is a different story, but she doesn't care if I get her $5 jeans at goodwill to mess around in, she knows I won't care if she stains or rips or ruins $5 jeans! As another said a 1 year old cares if you love them and hug them and keep them safe!

 

[danielle79]

I have often given my kids used toys - esp expensive ones that are in great condition. The biggie with this was Legos. When DS was 5 or 6, I explained that we had a set amount of money to spend for his bday, etc. I showed him what that would buy from the Lego catalog vs what it might buy at a yard sale. He thought I was crazy for even asking- he wanted the bigger pile!

I will also give nice used items to people I know also are ok with it. My neice wanted an American Girl doll, but I found a like new one at Goodwill, just missing the box. She was THRILLED. On the flip side, a $100 doll is a bigger gift than we'd usually give in our family, so I had to send emails out to the other relatives saying "she is getting this, but only because it $20!!"

This would be my nine year old with the Legos! She wants more of something always! She has learned all the values of $ and knows that a $20 bill is the same as twenty $1 bills but if you ask what she wants, she wants twenty $1 bills! Looks like more even if it is not!

 

[mommiepoppins]

Definitely, I will give yard sale gifts to my children. I have a stash in my laundry rooms of tons of things that I will wrap up for their birthday. Brand new in box art kits/books/etc. etc. I also buy tons of Disney stuff to give them during our disney trips. They don't know or care about the difference, but I have also given other things as gifts. If the items are brand new in the box, who the heck knows the difference, but you. Also, there are many things my family collects that you couldn't get anywhere but on Ebay or at a yard sale, so of course, I pick up those and family members are quite happy!

I have a stash in my laundry room too The reason why I say this I have a 21 year old who was like" you"re going to give the baby used gifts?" mind you my 21 year old and her sisters ( from previous Marriage) had everything!!! Brand new, but It was a different time and I was young and foolish with money

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I would totally do it ... and, for a small child, anything with packaging is just a hindrance when it comes to opening gifts b/c they want to play with it "right now"! When my kids were little, I never thought to buy them used toys as gifts ... but I often took their brand new toys out of the packaging before wrapping - particularly Christmas morning gifts.

Go for it and don't feel guilty or "cheap" ...

 

[Dancemomof3]

For my oldest daughters first and second birthdays she got a play house, table and chairs set, washer and dryer, play kitchen, picnic table and a cozy coupe, all Little Tikes brand. My mother in law and I went to a yard sale in a wealthier neighborhood in our area one very early morning about 2 months before her first birthday and hit the mother load. The most expensive thing was the play house. We snatched up everything, it was all in great condition, and split it up between us. We had presents for 2 years. Everything we bought is still being used to this day (10 years later) by either my younger daughter or my 3 and 1 year old nieces.

For Christmas 2 years ago my mother in law gave my younger daughter (5 at the time) a Fisher Price doll house that she picked up, filled with furniture at a thrift store. My daughter cared not at all that it was used, after she opened it she ignored the rest of her gifts. Last year at Christmas I told my brother in law to save room in their car (they live 8 hours away) because my older daughter (10) had outgrown her dollhouse and I would be sending it home with him. I then asked him what the girls wanted/needed for Christmas and he said, "aren't you giving them E's old dollhouse?" . So, in our family. used gifts are perfectly acceptable, welcomed actually.

 

[DarthMama]

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.

I agree completely! (haven't read all the posts, so this may have been said before)

My son is turning 9 this summer and he thinks garage sales are absolutely the best place on Earth to shop, because (i) he can find cool stuff that no one else has, (ii) he can get more for his money, and (iii) mom is getting more for her money, too, so she'll be more likely to say yes (if he's out of his funds) at a garage sale than at a store.

 

[dzneelvr]

I don't do garage sales, but resale and consignment shops and estate sales are my main source for unique valuable gifts for my grown kids and others who are close to me. I usually give a small gift of money along with items ranging from a famous players' sports jersey to jewelry to handbags. I picked up 4 never-been-used Dooney & Bourke leather handbags from the 80's (I looked them up on the website to confirm) at an estate sale a couple years ago and will be gifting both DD and DS's fiance with one each this year. They'll freak I tailor the gifts to the individual and have so much fun shopping "green" all year round and I am a sucker for classics given to me in return. Who needs new all the time Recycle Reuse Reimagine.

 

[yeahdisney]

Yes I am ok giving my kids used toys. They also like Legos and would rather get more at a garage sale then one new one from the store that would even cost more. I still try now to find like new little unique things to fill their Xmas stockings to over flowing, they love it and it normally cost us less than $12 a stocking.

 

[NYCDiane]

He's ONE YEAR OLD. It's not going to make any difference to him if the toy/game comes in a bright, shiny, sealed box or if you just wrap it and give it to him. He's going to love it and play with it anyway!

Just make sure everything is very clean, no broken parts, etc and check the consumer product safety commission website for recalls or anything.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Perfectly fine. Be sure they are in excellent condition, completely clean and then be glad they cost less money AND you don't have to deal with all the packaging and putting the stuff together!!!

I however would only give him a few things for Christmas and one or two for his birthday and then give him some things along so he will not be overwhelmed with so much at one time and can enjoy them more. Used books are great too.

I am just not a yard sale person but stopped at one right before my son was like 7 or 8. They had this HUGE container of knex. We were not yet into these and I knew DS would love them. They would have cost hundreds of dollars and they were like 5.00.....unreal. He got them for his birthday and they turned out to be one of the all time best gifts at out home and our now 6 year old plays with them all the time!!!

 

[shortbun]

My son's Christmas toys until he was 3 were all from Thrift stores and yard sales. We scoured them, painted them, reconditioned them. He loved everything!!! Other people got him new things. I never gave another child used gifts. I see no reason to spend tons of money for a small child when they roll right through their toys as they mature. DS had a great kitchen with all kinds of plastic food. He had a wonderful climber-huge. We had vacuums, musical instruments, lawn mowers, cars to sit in and get pushed and more. I also got lots of his clothes the same way. Lots of our friends did the same thing. We also passed toys and clothes down to younger children of friends. My son wore Gap and Gymboree. Someone paid for it, not me. When my Mom died, we went to the Thrift store to get DS a sports jacket; it was a one use item. When he needed black pants and a white shirt for performance-thrift store. I've bought Coach bags, cut glass bowls, Heisey and Limoges at the Thrift store. I bought my champagne glasses at the Thrift store. The decoupaged table and chairs on my back porch-solid wood/drop leaf-Thrift store. I have no idea why so many feel shame about shopping for 2nd hand.

 

[IUTBAM]

The majority of my kids clothes and toys came from garage sales when they were young (my kids are 18 and 20 now). I don't garage sale anymore, but I do hit the Goodwills in my town on a regular basis, and we buy at least 75% of our wardrobe secondhand (including my 20 year old college junior daughter)...it's not out of necessity, but out of wanting to get the best value for our dollar. My DD would rather have a well-made brand-name second hand piece of clothing from the thrift shop than a new "cheap" piece of clothing from a place like Kohl's (we picked up a few new shirts for her at Kohl's recently dirt-cheap on clearance, and we both were shocked at how "thin" and poorly made they seemed, but they were literally $2 or less on 80% off so we couldn't resist lol).

The best thing I ever did for my kids IMHO is to teach them to be thrifty and make wise financial choices. They both expect gifts at Christmas and their birthdays to partly come from Goodwill...and I never disappoint! You can find some really cool and unique things at secondhand stores!

 

[threeboysmom]

Gosh, a ONE-YEAR OLD is certainly not going to know the difference between a new toy and a used toy. To me this is a no brainer. Buy all his toys at a yard sale!!!! Who cares?!

 

[sandynd]

Please do not feel guilty or cheap! I love getting value for my dollar, and I've been able to pass this along to my daughter - she is very thrifty and smart. We bought her a used ipod on Kijiji for $100 for Christmas one year. It was a third generation. A few months later, the 4th gens came out with FaceTime, and she really wanted it so she could Facetime me (on my 2nd-hand 4th gen ipod!) So, she saved up money from her allowance, and bought a 4th gen, second hand, for $100. Then she turned around and sold her third gen for $90! So her 4th gen ipod ended up costing her $10. And she was nine. We buy most of our clothes from the thrift store - I love hunting through the racks for unique stuff. We haven't bought a new full priced CD or movie in years - we have a chain of used CD stores up here that we can enter an item we're looking for, and when it comes in, they'll call us. We recently (in the last couple of years) had a massive change in financial circumstance, but our daughter is not feeling it or worrying about it, because of our thrifty ways!

 

[3goofyboys]

I would do this in a heartbeat! He doesn't know or care where they came from, so less $$ spent is better!

 

[taylor3297]

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?

No it is not cheap. At that age, he is not going to care or notice if the items are new or not. I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[writersblock42]

My own child who is one-definitely would get some at the garage sale. For older children/adults only if it is new looking, still in the box or the fact that it is older is an advantage. I have gotten my step-MIl stuff at yard sales because she is into antiques and I have found some brand new in the box stuff at a yard sale. I have also gotten something new for the child and then said, "I also picked these up at yard sale for him/her" I usually give a box of hand-me-downs at a birthday party in addition to a present. I keep the box to the side but let the parent know.

 

[wishesuponastar]

OP, I could see myself buying garage sale gifts for my child because I once gave my DH a used kids tool bench for Father's Day when the kids were really young. I thought he would get a kick out of playing with them with it but he wasn't thrilled that I got him a used gift. Oh well, your child though is too young to say anything and if everything about the gifts is is in great condition I say go for it