Second Hand Santa - A Frugal, Decluttering Christmas Tradition

The holiday season can be a beautiful mix of joy and pressure. For some families, it’s a time of stretching every dollar to make Christmas morning magical. For others, it’s a season overflowing with gifts, toys, and well-meaning abundance — so much that clutter starts to replace joy.

No matter which side of the sleigh you’re on, Second Hand Santa brings a heartwarming solution that blends generosity, sustainability, and Christmas magic. This tradition invites children to donate to the North Pole, giving their gently loved toys a new life in another home — while receiving second hand Christmas gifts in return.

It’s a simple, beautiful way to teach the joy of giving, reduce waste, and celebrate a frugal, budget-friendly Christmas that feels every bit as special as one filled with brand new gifts. With Second Hand Santa, you can keep the spirit of the season alive — full of gratitude, creativity, and real holiday magic.

Decluttering With Second Hand Santa

Every December, as soon as the Christmas tree is decorated, we place a Santa bag on the tree skirt. Our son is required to pick out a certain number of toys that he no longer plays with to place in the Santa bag before Christmas Eve.

Not only does this practice help declutter our home, it teaches our son kindness, empathy, and generosity.

What Happens With The Toys In The Santa Bag

On Christmas Eve Santa takes the bag filled with old toys back to the North Pole. There, the elves fix up his old toys to bring joy to other little boys and girls next Christmas.

What Santa Leaves

Since Santa’s elves fix up old toys for new homes, this also means that Santa only brings secondhand toys to our house. Bear with me here, because Santa’s elves make those second hand toys even better than they were brand new!

In the months leading up to Christmas I scour Marketplace, local buy nothing groups, and thrift stores looking for toys to jazz up. Pinterest has a ton of great ideas for this with a quick search for “toy makeover.”

Here are just a few that we’ve done in the past.

Second Hand Volkswagen Cozy Coupe Makeover

I found an old Cozy Coupe at a yard sale for $10 and knew I hit the jackpot. With a little bit of Rustoleum Plastic Primer, Krylon Ocean Breeze Spray Paint, white spray paint, a bamboo surf board cutting board, stick on lights for headlights, and some Volkswagen stick on emblems from Ebay, we brought new life to a well loved second hand toy.

Find the full tutorial for this Cozy Coupe glow up here.

Second Hand Refurbished Radioflyer Wagon

I found a well loved wooden Radioflyer wagon on Facebook Marketplace that needed a little TLC. We replaced the hardware, repainted it, and used my Silhouette Cameo to create a custom Radioflyer logo for the sides with Moose’s name using Kelvinized font.

Second Hand Patched Bicycle Trailer

This Schwinn bicycle trailer was one of my favorite Facebook Marketplace finds. It took me months of watching Marketplace before I found one at the price I was looking for that was still structurally sound and safe. It was lightly used for $20 but had a small tear in the fabric that was easily fixed with gear tape.

Second Hand Painted Montessori Learning Tower

This Montessori Learning Tower was another Facebook Marketplace find. It was filthy when I picked it up, and the price reflected that. After a bit of elbow grease with a good cleaner, I sanded the tower down and painted it with leftover cabinet paint to match our kitchen cabinets. I also used this sewing pattern from Life With My Littles to make a little toddler sized apron to accompany the learning tower.

New Second Hand Finds

I have found several second hand items on Facebook Marketplace that didn’t need a makeover, and those are always my favorite! Other Mamas will often sell gently used toys that their children didn’t like on the cheap. It takes a lot of searching to find specific items that I want at a good price, but it is always worth the effort to see the look on Moose’s face on Christmas morning.

I was so excited to find this Strider bike on Facebook Marketplace for $20 from a mom whose son only rode it once for a few seconds and then never showed an interest in it again. Moose has gotten so much joy from this balance bike that we wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise.

Other Frugal Christmas Traditions

For more frugal and minimalist Christmas traditions to start with your family this year, check out this minimalist Christmas gift guide.

Feedback

Are you going to implement Second Hand Santa this Christmas? What did your kiddos think of the Santa bag? What awesome second hand finds did you score? Let me know in the comments below!