A mum has revealed she saves £1,000 a year by buying second-hand Christmas gifts – and insists her children “couldn’t care less” that they’re used toys.
Sarah MacRory decided to cut back on presents when she reduced her working hours to care for her son, who has autism.
The 37-year-old mum-of-three says the amount she now saves is startling, spending “at least £200-£300 per child” less than she would otherwise have.
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As for the kids? She says they neither care nor notice if their toys have already been played with.
“I realised while watching my younger two at Christmas that they couldn’t care less about the wrapping or packaging and just wanted to see a fun new toy they didn’t have,” Sarah, who works in breastfeeding support at the NHS and is based in Aberdeen, told What’s The Jam.
“Having a smaller budget [after cutting back work hours] meant I had to be smarter when spending, and my son with autism loves quite obscure toys from 90’s-2000’s – so I could only ever find these pre-loved anyway.
“That’s what got me thinking it was a smart way to shop.”
Sarah trawls Vinted and eBay, searching for pre-loved toys and gifts that are still in good condition for son Tyler-James, 17, daughter Everleigh-Reign, aged four, and her two-year-old son Theo-Babylon.
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She said: “My kids are so incredibly grateful [for what they get].
“They don’t understand that they have been played with before.
“My younger two don’t know the difference yet – they are delighted to have presents regardless, and a lot of the pre-loved items I find with shopping this way are either never played with or still look new.
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“My eldest is a very grateful considerate boy so he’s happy.
“If he asked for ‘new items’ I’m usually able to get these too because I’ve saved so much with thrifty shopping, so in all honesty it’s the best of both worlds.
“I’m extremely fortunate to be able to fulfil their Christmas wishes each year so does it really matter if I just had to be a little smarter in getting there?”
Sarah says there can be “negative connotations” that come with shopping pre-loved items, but said if children are raised “right”, they will be “happy and grateful regardless”.
She added: “I’m a hippie when it comes to the environment and waste so I absolutely love it if I can find items that aren’t coming in boxes or plastic packaging.
“I want to be able to teach my children that regardless of how comfortable you are financially there’s no shame in being smart when shopping.
“Not only does it help the environment and my bank, but me buying someone else’s old toys might give them the funds to buy something else for their children which they might not have managed if they didn’t make extra pennies on selling platforms.
“The cost of living crisis in the UK is hitting people hard and I want to normalise that it’s OK to shop pre-loved.
“No one should feel shame – especially when their children will be happy on Christmas morning – you created that magic and it shouldn’t matter how you made it happen.”
Sarah says toys she has already purchased for this year would have set her back £250 if bought new, but she has instead nabbed for £30.
She added: “This year I’ve already saved a couple of hundred pounds on the sets I wanted to buy for my son.
“I start my Christmas shopping with my October pay so that I’m spacing out my purchases to make sure I’m never left struggling.
“I’ve already got two big bags of toys in the loft hidden that I’ve bought from Vinted.
“My daughter wants Disney princess dress up’s – these are between £20-40 online new, but I will be able to get them pre-loved for under £10, so that’s my plan for this month.
“I genuinely save at least £200-£300 per child each Christmas when looking at what it would have cost me new, so I comfortably save a good £1,000 each year.”
