No Toys???

SarahFair

Songster
11 Years
Sep 23, 2008
3,696
34
209
Monroe, Ga
All the TOYS!
OH GOSH ALL THE TOYS!
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Usually I keep them all locked in a room and only give them one or two to play with but some how they are still coming from everywhere!
(do they really wake up in the middle of that night?!?!?!
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For a long time Ive been debating on a huge yard sale and just sell ALL the toys and letting them have one each, like the old days.
...You know when they had like ONE doll or ONE whatever boys played with back then. Kids seemed to appreciate their possesions more. Now its like if they break one they can just move onto the next.





I feel guilty though because some of the toys the grandparents have bought the kids are $40, $50, $100+..
How do I explain getting rid of stuff like that (especially to a sort of snooty MIL)?
How do you go about telling people ...'Hey please dont get my children toys for xmas'...
Sometimes people just dont listen!
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When shopping for another childs birthday I usually just get a movie, clothes, sports type thing to get them outside, or maybe a project (want to paint a birdhouse?
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Is it bad I want to take my kids toys away?
 
I don't think so. They become so overwhelming and the kids forget what is there. And it leaves mommy crazy over the clutter and mess. My MIL can go nuts and we have had to tell her one toy and one outfit and the rest in an educational account. This may sound a little harsh, but believe me, my kids do not need $200 worth of toys and junk at Christmas -- this does not count what Santa, Mom & Dad, and others get them. And the funny thing with her is that she can go months without seeing them (they live three miles away) -- we find that quality time is more important. I'd kindly let your MIL know the guidelines and don't worry if she gets snitty with you, I am sure that is will pass. I don't think that you need to explain. Or maybe she could buy the gifts and they stay at her house -- let her worry about the clutter.
 
I feel your pain! I am in the exact same boat. My two boys have enough toys for 50 kids. I need to either have a yard sale or donate 90% of them soon. We moved to a smaller house and I seem to step on or trip over toys all day long, even though toys are supposed to stay in the bedroom.

Thanks to my husband and I both having divorced parents, and ex-step parents, our kids have lots of grandparents, for which I am grateful, but that makes the toys add up really quickly. We have started to ask in advance for new bedding, dvd's or college fund money etc..., but grandparents just want to see the joy on the boys faces when they get a new toy. Maybe this year they will all want to send money for Christmas since we moved so far away and shipping is outrageous. One can only hope!
 
I don't let my boys 4 and 1 have very many toys out. I keep about half downstairs and I trade them out once in a while. I have asked people to stop buying toys for my kids, I always say no gifts for birthday parties. If I invite someone its because I would like you to be there not to bring a gift. They usually end up with cheap stuff that breaks right away. I would prefer movies or clothes. Stuff they may actually need. Instead of saying no toys, give them a few ideas of things they need. Kids always need shoes, clothes, etc. Just say we have plenty of toys right now. I send stuff to Goodwill or DI after we are done with them. Or if it something I can't stand
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. My mil keeps things at her house that she knows will drive me crazy. Its not bad at all.
 
Every season, I tell the kids, you guys do not get new toys until we go through the ones you never play with and make a donation bag. Ya some of the toys were expensive or gifts, but the reality is that they amount so quickly its insane. I always tell them if you have no use for that nice toy another little boy or girl will benefit from it when they buy it at the resale shop. I never throw anything out unless its in bad shape.

before bdays and Xmas we usually got several bags to give away. It was hard to understand for my DD at first but she now knows and she also knows that some kids in our town don't have the luxury of being able to buy that new barbie doll or cool new hot toy that just came out. My kids have tons and tons of toys, so when we make donation bags its anything they haven't played with since last time we made a donation bag, I then also go through the clothes and shoes and if my friends with children don't take the stuff it all goes to the donation center.

the first time I did this I felt super guilty :-S but it gets easier. I didn't want to do it behind their backs, so I always get their input on the items. but if it becomes a huge issue its always best to do it when they are in school. the bottom line is if they haven't played with it in months they will likely not even notice its gone.
 
I specifically tell my parents and grandparents along with the in-laws, not to buy my kids tons of toys. Clothes and books are so much better. They have all done very well with it, other than my wicked MIL. She hates me (and the feeling is mutual) so she ignores what I say.


Also, I have found that not having cable, really cuts down on the "I want" disease that pops up around Christmas. Now, instead of wanting everything they see, they get more creative about asking for things. They actually ask for books!


I am also not afraid to get rid of the over abundance of toys. They go to co-workers or the Goodwill.
 
Actually the last few years I asked for books. I told them we are drowning in toys but kids really can never have too many books IMO. The aunties and grandparents were thrilled with that option and actually so were the kids. The older ones each have a book list of ones they would like.

We also do the donation thing. We cannot have Christmas until we have 2 trash bags full to get rid of. One bag is for those toys broken and no longer able to be passed on. The second bag is for donations.
 
I feel you on the no cable. We havent had cable in well over a year and some of these toys people talk about makes me say "huh?! ZuZu what?"
 
I have found that donating things feels very different from a yard sale. A yard sale, you're thinking about how little someone paid for it and how much money you "lost" and how it was worth so much more. A donation, you're thinking about how much you were able to give and that makes you feel even richer!

As for wanting them to only have a few toys, I don't think that's bad. Get them involved though so *they* pick what to keep and what to donate. You might be surprised at what they decide to donate. Kids are often more generous, given the chance, than we give them credit for.
 

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