What do you do with those gifts you dont want?
For instance the irritating shreiking ,flashing plastic toy that claims to teach your child everything from colours to letters?
P

I tend to save unwanted gifts and pass them onto someone who is likely to want them.  This year I got hangers from 2 different people. dd also got hangers (shes 18 months) and my nephew who 7 got hangers and turn rounf and said " hmm, hangers their a bit of  funny present!" kids…..love em..

Sometimes its clear that no effort has gone into it at all,I hate to sound ungrateful but I'd rather people didn't waste their money just for the sake of it.

Freecycle! :D

we took some stuff to the charity shop on friday!

[quote author=Muchu link=topic=884.msg9604#msg9604 date=1198967296]

Sometimes its clear that no effort has gone into it at all,I hate to sound ungrateful but I'd rather people didn't waste their money just for the sake of it.

I agree with this totally!!  My brother's new wife went and got all the Christmas presents one year and because she can't get her head around me HE at all, she bought me a pack of wax crayons!!  I suppose if you're weird enough to want to spend time with your children, then you obviously have no life beyond wax crayons!!  It made me laugh to think how little she knows me!   :D

I suppose it depends on whom the present is from.  Are they likely to miss seeing it around your house?  If not, the freecycle or charity shop.  Children's things are trickier as they have usually been unwrapped and played with, even though you know the play-value will hardly last beyond New Year, but I tend to have a sort out of children's toys (with their approval always) every few years and things that they just don't play with anymore and that won't be useful for a younger sibling to grow into are found new homes. 

I do always make sure the children say thank you and write thank you letters though, whatever they've been given, it's just polite I suppose.

I can't believe it- we didn't get a single unwanted prezzy this year- finally people have listened to us!!!!! ;D In the past I've been honest with gifts, explained that they arn't suitable and have returned them- or exchanged for something more appropriate.
We had a perfect christmas with my sister and her family- most of the gifts were home made (jam, shoe bags, a rhubarb plant…)or from charity shops (a treasure basket for the baby and a set of really old wooden jigsaws)- wrapped up in Morsebags and magazine pages and ribbon (Christmas recipie pages- looked really good).
Gill

Well at first I was going to try and return it but It was difficult,I think the giver would be really offended if we asked for a recipt.So its been opened and I think we will donate it to a worthy cause when the novelty wears off,probably next week LOL if I can put up with shreiking ABCfor that long.
There are some book I will donate to oxfam or our Doctors  surgery.
I have a candle with plastic flowers inside which is neither use nor ornament
And a plastic morphing toy that states 5 years-which is probanly how long it takes for an adult to manipulate the car into a robot-nothing to do with age suitability :-\

On the  whole we recieved some very thoughtful gifts  ;D

I've just been in touch with the council to send some kids things to local asylum seekers - they also collect for the homeless. Your council will probably do the same.

Because dd is still young I manged to whip somethings away and have stored them for when she's bored of the toys that are out.  On the whole though she's not much of a player more of an explorer she wants to be doing what your doing, hanging out the washing gardening whatever rather than sitting and playing, she does love books although we have enough to start our own library, I find its the thing everyone that wantsto give a child a small gift gives them, you can't go wrong on the whole with books although we do have duplicates which I have passed on to others.  

Dh and I got a decorative bean oil bottle, I can't work out whether the oil is useable or not or whether its someting that sits and gathers dust (argh!!) anyway it was from our next door neighbour so I thought I should have it out on display for a while atleast.  We do only have a small kitchen though and the window ledge is vital space for seed growing soon, so that'll be a good reason to remove the said item!!

We did get some fab gifts too, one of the best being the first part of a series of code games based around the da vinci code.  Each has a scroll inside with clue to the next one, friends of ours bought each couple in our close circle of friends one so we have to all work together to get to the final treasure!!!  How great, its from a  company called familygamesamerica.com or sacredmythsandlegends.com if its anyone thing.  DH and I got game one which we manage to open this morning Hurrah!!  we've phoned clue number 2 on to the next couple.  We also had a caleneder that friends made with photos of all our friends as the month pictures - really nice.
So its not always bad and only another 359 days to look forward to all those noisey plastice things again  :)
;D

[quote author=Queenie link=topic=884.msg9636#msg9636 date=1199123934]
My M-I-L is the worst for this. I love her dearly but her taste and mine are opposite ends of the spectrum. She often buys my little ones clothes for Christmas/birthdays. These are usually from Tesco but she ALWAYS cuts the whole tag off so I can't exchange or get a refund. I have asked my husband to ask her not to incase the children get duplicates but of course I mean so that I can take them back    

My MIL is the same she has NEVER bought dd anything that fits, its always too small and at christmas she gave her a pressie early because she new it probably wouldn't fit, AND she also take the labels off.  She's only in her early 60's and a very young Grandma I just can't work her out, this year dd got clothes which just about fit and some stacking cups for age 0-3, which firstly dd already has and secondly she now not really interested in them.  Anyone else that bought dd clothes asked what size would be best which is great (I always buy bigger!!)

We didn't get that much unwanted stuff. Family members generally heeded my request for pyjamas for the boys (my usual default request) and other than the odd pressie it wasn't too bad. We usually give unwanted things to a charity shop.
annie

[quote author=Maysmum link=topic=884.msg9635#msg9635 date=1199123773]
I've just been in touch with the council to send some kids things to local asylum seekers - they also collect for the homeless. Your council will probably do the same.

eek, just realised .... I was thinking more generall about giving away un-needed stuff here, rather than unwanted tat - I'm not suggesting that you should give horrible things to asylum seekers etc! I would only give them stuff that I would want for my own baby.

I was wondering, we have an aunt who allways buys my 12 year old ds toileteries of the skinky teenage boy type. I don't want to put them in the bin (guilt, waste and the fact that they would end up in land fill). I just don't know what to do with them any one any idears?  

Lorna x   

[quote author=hennahead link=topic=884.msg9783#msg9783 date=1199385097]
I was wondering, we have an aunt who allways buys my 12 year old ds toileteries of the skinky teenage boy type. I don't want to put them in the bin (guilt, waste and the fact that they would end up in land fill). I just don't know what to do with them any one any idears?   

Lorna x   

Freecycle or save them for your son to give as gifts to his friends?
Gill

"Stinky teenage boys" are the ones who cover themselves in deo spray that should come with a health warning ! The ones that get on the bus and you can't breathe when you sit behind them for the smell of cheap afteshave or body spray.

Lorna x

Charity shop them, or ebay.