Mummy Frugal over at The Diary Of A Frugal Family has really got me thinking about where Christmas presents can come from. Cass asked if we would buy Christmas presents second hand?
Last year when it came to buying Christmas presents for Oli , I was still in the shock stage of actually having a child to share Christmas with. I always wondered as I was growing up what it would be like when it came to having my own kids on this special day and I had visions of spending lots and lots of money on presents for them.
Then I actually had a child and realised that lots & lots of money is something which is only in dreams. We were not really well off last December , I think the money had only started to return to normal after having to buy all those newborn essentials and buying clothes near enough every week due to the fact he was growing non-stop. I could of spent every little penny we had making sure Oli had everything from the baby toy section from Toys R Us/Argos but what would that of achieved?
Expensive toys that he would grow out of in a matter of weeks or get bored of the minute he unwrapped them.
For those reasons we turned to eBay for his Christmas presents. We managed to get some right bargains in the weeks leading up to Christmas , I got him some ride on trucks and some of those noisy learning tables for the bargain price of 99p each. I used the tools available to me on eBay to look at what was being sold closest to us and had the option of free postage when you pick it up yourself.
I used the toy catalogues as guides to what I was buying , I looked at what I liked and what I thought would be suitable for Oli and then I searched for it on eBay. 8/10 I managed to find what I was looking for at half the price or even quarter of the price it was being sold for in the shops.
It wasn't just eBay I got his Christmas presents from , I went to a NCT sale a couple of months beforehand where I managed to get a couple of black bags full of toys for some bargain prices , I gave a few to Oli when I got home but then hid the rest of them away in our wardrobe. I would totally recommend NCT sales for any expectant/new parent - Nickie over at Curly & Candid blogged yesterday about one she went to recently.
I even went as far as using various boxes like shoe boxes and food boxes to put the presents in and then wrapping them , just so it added more for him to unwrap. He was only 9 months old at the time so he didn't really notice much , it was overwhelming enough for him with what he had.
And you know what?
This year we plan on doing exactly the same! I actually have the eBay tab open at the same time as I am writing this. No matter if it's secondhand or new , I know it will still bring a smile to the face of one little boy. He knows no difference yet and that money which could be used on brand new toys can just wait until he's a little older when he can tell us exactly what he wants.
We didn't even buy each other presents last year, we spent what little money we had on buying toys and activity things for him but it didn't matter as we had already given each other the best present we could of - Oliver.
Then I actually had a child and realised that lots & lots of money is something which is only in dreams. We were not really well off last December , I think the money had only started to return to normal after having to buy all those newborn essentials and buying clothes near enough every week due to the fact he was growing non-stop. I could of spent every little penny we had making sure Oli had everything from the baby toy section from Toys R Us/Argos but what would that of achieved?
Expensive toys that he would grow out of in a matter of weeks or get bored of the minute he unwrapped them.
For those reasons we turned to eBay for his Christmas presents. We managed to get some right bargains in the weeks leading up to Christmas , I got him some ride on trucks and some of those noisy learning tables for the bargain price of 99p each. I used the tools available to me on eBay to look at what was being sold closest to us and had the option of free postage when you pick it up yourself.
I used the toy catalogues as guides to what I was buying , I looked at what I liked and what I thought would be suitable for Oli and then I searched for it on eBay. 8/10 I managed to find what I was looking for at half the price or even quarter of the price it was being sold for in the shops.
It wasn't just eBay I got his Christmas presents from , I went to a NCT sale a couple of months beforehand where I managed to get a couple of black bags full of toys for some bargain prices , I gave a few to Oli when I got home but then hid the rest of them away in our wardrobe. I would totally recommend NCT sales for any expectant/new parent - Nickie over at Curly & Candid blogged yesterday about one she went to recently.
I even went as far as using various boxes like shoe boxes and food boxes to put the presents in and then wrapping them , just so it added more for him to unwrap. He was only 9 months old at the time so he didn't really notice much , it was overwhelming enough for him with what he had.
And you know what?
This year we plan on doing exactly the same! I actually have the eBay tab open at the same time as I am writing this. No matter if it's secondhand or new , I know it will still bring a smile to the face of one little boy. He knows no difference yet and that money which could be used on brand new toys can just wait until he's a little older when he can tell us exactly what he wants.
We didn't even buy each other presents last year, we spent what little money we had on buying toys and activity things for him but it didn't matter as we had already given each other the best present we could of - Oliver.