This year, we got great toys for the nieces and nephews at the town-wide yard sales in our town and a neighboring town. We found two sets of wooden blocks (one set with letters on them, and one set in a variety of shapes and colors) and a 3-dimensional dinosaur puzzle with wooden pieces. In previous years we've found a wooden car, truck, and airplane (all 50 cents to a dollar apiece). You never know what you're going to find at yard sales, but if you're lucky, you can pick up some real gems at great prices.

Brandy  would the secound hand dolls do , if I make lets say a dress for the doll to make it better looking would that be tackie, I never bought this would be the first time 20 years ago when I worked in the dry cleaner I also had to be a smeastress my question if I buy a nice looking doll and do the outfit my self would be tackie...

Thanks

ps. joined the debt freeze challange

 

cheapChic:

Brandy  would the secound hand dolls do , if I make lets say a dress for the doll to make it better looking would that be tackie, I never bought this would be the first time 20 years ago when I worked in the dry cleaner I also had to be a smeastress my question if I buy a nice looking doll and do the outfit my self would be tackie...

Thanks

ps. joined the debt freeze challange

 

If the doll itself is in good condition then I don't think that is tacky at all.

 

One of the arguments in The Tightwad Gazzette that the author (I can't spell her name) taught her children was how much more she can get when buying used.  She used the example that she bought a big box of mixed legos for $1.50 at a garage sale for her son for Christmas.  Had she taken that same $1.50 to the toy store she would have been able to purchase only one very small toy -- never a whole box of something.  I really liked that argument.  I spent about $6 on 7 or 8 used books for one of my DD's presents at Christmas.  That same $6 at the book store would have only gotten 1 book and maybe a single piece of candy next to the register.

sunshinetreva:

Had she taken that same $1.50 to the toy store she would have been able to purchase only one very small toy -- never a whole box of something. 

I agree with that. I have been able to give my children higher quality gifts for less than a junk toy would cost. I have also been able to find items they really wanted like Disney princess toys or Legos for what a cheap toy would have cost.

 

love second hand toys!  I do buy new but my kids are used to getting toys from thrift stores.  especially going out with grandma!   It is amazing how many new or nearly new things you can get.

most things like the melissa and doug puzzles are way too pricey new.      I have gotten so many things used and unique things too.   My mom just got  a wooden thomas the train set in the box... blowing down the trees set, with thomas and james engines for $6 at sally ann in the box. had been played with but just a little.  someone there did not know the price of thomas stuff!  I told my mom what a deal. the box had the sale price of $39.99.

part of the kids xmas gift is a pokemon fiqures set I got from craigslist for $30 better then the $100 it would be new.

 When I was growing up my mother would secondhand our own toys. In July she would do a deep clean of our rooms and what ever wasn't played with was put up in a box and at Christmas she would rerap and and give them to us again. We never caught on, she confessed this to me when my kids were small and would recive a ton of gifts from everyone we knew. Some times she would give us the same toy back or give to a younger sib.

cyn