The holiday season is a magical time filled with joy, twinkling lights, and, of course, presents. But once the tinsel is packed away and the New Year’s confetti has settled, I often find myself faced with a new kind of challenge: managing the influx of toys.
My son is an only child, the only grandchild on my side of the family, and the youngest grandchild on my husband’s side. The amount of Christmas gifts he receives from friends and family often gets overwhelming alongside the mound of forgotten toys inside his toy box that he no longer plays with or has outgrown. This is why my family has implemented Second Hand Santa.
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, when Santa arrives to leave gifts for our sweet boy, he takes the bag that Moose filled with his 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 second hand 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 Facebook Marketplace and consignment stores looking for the best toys that I can jazz up with a little elbow grease. 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 $25 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 $40 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.
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!
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