Make it a Second Hand Holiday Season....Ten Reasons Why Seconds are BEST

Here comes the holiday season with all its glory & pain. While many people complain they don't like the commercialism of the holiday, if we are honest, who doesn't like to give & receieve a thoughtful gift? I have to confess, I am a Christmas junkie (my holiday of choice), but I detest the ridiculous overpriced, poorly made (and sometimes TOXIC) offerings of the goods made in China. And, we really need to curb our production levels...So, what to do?

SECOND HAND!

Here is my list of why second hand gifts RULE, & why once you begin this way of giving, you will never go back.

1. Better quality. Example: Compare a vintage Cashmere sweater from Scotland (just purchased one for my husband on eBay for 37.00 including shipping - cable knit & six PLY) with a Chinese factory made Cashmere. There is no comparison in quality. And, just try to even find a new sweater with this type of craftsmanship. And, this brings us very nicely into our number two reason....

2. PRICE...the real kicker is that new sweater will often cost two to three times the price! And, if you wanted to purchase the same sweater new (made in Scotland), it would be hundreds of dollars. This holds true for all types of items. If you want gorgeous furniture, go to an auction. (Prices are rock bottom for basic high quality functional pieces, & even the higher end collectible furniture is often no more then the price of poorly made but very expensive new furniture). I just purchased a 20s Velvet Couch at an auction for....Ready....One hundred & fifty dollars. Built like a tank & gorgeous beyond gorgeous. It needs a little work, but with another four or five hundred invested in this piece, it will be a heirloon piece, that will last a lifetime.

3. Variety. Ever go through the mall & look at store after store after store after store filled with the exact same merchandise. You want to give a special gift, forget about the mass manufactured & go for the memories. A few years back, I had a huge Christmas party at my house (my first year in my Victorian home, so I was REALLY into it). I spent two months buying a toy for each person from their childhood era. (Granted this was a little extravagant, but still way cheaper then buying new). I read 'Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus' & then had everyone open their gifts at the same time. Adults were openly weeping (I am not kidding). Toys they always wanted as a child but never received or their favorite old toy...they were kids again. People still talk about it, many say it was their best Christmas since they were little.

4. Made in the USA or Europe. Beautiful gifts not made from slave labor or horrendous working condition.

5. Recycling is a responsible way to give.

6. Environmentally friendly.

7. Help a American business person make a living. eBay sellers, antique dealers, vintage clothing retailers are just
working people trying to make a living. Their prices are usually very reasonable (though people are sometimes
intimidated by antique shops thinking they are too expensive - most have gifts in all price ranges & if you are
going to splurge, they often have gifts to just die for...).

8. Help a charity. Goodwill, Salvation Army shops employ people trying to intergrate into the workforce, plus
the money collected goes to help food banks, heating assistance, & other services for those in need of some
assistance. I have found amazing things at thrift stores through the years, my house is full of them.

9. Beauty. Vintage & antiques are often crafted in a way that no longer is available in this mass produced world.
Antiques & vintage collectibles enhance home decor with vibrance & richness that you just can't buy new.

10. Thoughtfulness. If you buy your wife a vintage Czech glass necklace from the 20s on eBay, or a beautiful
Crazy Quilt, she will be touched beyond belief. Taking the time to search for something unique & individual for the
person you love will make them feel treasured. And, after all, isn't that what this is all about?

Happiest Holidays Everyone - May they be safe & full of love!

a recycled x mas including re conditioned ipod from the Apple Store, name brands that my kids like from a second hand store (I found a beautiful Oilily wool cardigan for $15!), books from a half priced (used) store and used musical equipment. They will be beautifully wrapped in fabric/pillow cases and tied with ribbons that I saved over the years.

My dogs get homemade dog cookies!

a sweater hand knitted doesn't sound like a second hand item, unless it was worn by someone previously and then given as a gift.

Sorry for the confusion.

wife is a indy retailer, so I had to chime in.

We're always looking for unique things at Christmas for people. Even though we draw names for our one major gift recipient, we also try to get each other person a little something for their stocking. My son and his cousins are really into cowboys, so I went to Ebay and bought each one a of the Roy Rogers/Gene Autry golden book and a "Johnny West" figure. They were thrilled. For my older nephew, I bought him a some GI Joe accessories from Ebay (to match the ones his dad had). I also bought Skittle Bowl as a family game.

This year -- well, let's just say I'll get started this weekend :(

It was really endearing to watch the men, especially....

They were so cute.

I knit, crochet, sew, and embroider, so it's an all-year affair getting everything ready.

Off topic: "heirloon" is my new favorite word. :D

Amd I waos so prouad of no typooos

:toast:

After doing that one year for my in-laws and seeing their reactions, they don't get my knitting anymore.

find the most amazing gifts at the best prices ever. Found my dad a set of DVDs of old Westerns at a sale this summer for only $10. Found my mother, who loves roosters, a set of rooster pattern soup bowls for only $2. Not chips, perfect condition. I am able to get more items for less cost every year.

And really, you can do something really unique for the recipient that isn't mass-produced mall crap.

My sister is active in the Missouri Democratic party and she loves all of the hoopla of election years. Last year I scoured eBay to find authentic period political buttons (not reproductions) and got quite a nice starter collection going - all Democrats, of course. And it's part of our history - I ended up with a '32 Roosevelt pin, a Bobby Kennedy '68 button, a JFK PT-109 pin, an "All the Way with LBJ" flashing button, great Clinton/Gore and Gore stuff, Adlai, HHH, etc. There's quite a variety and they're still relatively inexpensive. I bought a wall display case and left room for additions and she LOVED it. You can't find something like that at Sharper Image or Wally World. You can really personalize your gift, it just takes a little more time.

K&R... and once you start doing it for gifting, you'll start doing it for yourself, too. Save money, better for the environment, everybody wins!

Love it`

this is what I have always done. I make something or buy second hand for everyone on my list. To me, it isn't Christmas if you buy new and just buy what is new and cool for that year. It takes thought and caring to find the right gift for someone. That is what makes a great Christmas for me. I grew up with a Mom who sewed and every Christmas, we each got something new that she had made for us. I do more baking than sewing but my friends seem to like the home baked cinnamon raisin bread that I often give them for the holidays.

You've given me some good ideas for the future.

1. Buy white cotton clothing from Goodwill
2. Tiedye

My mother-in-law told us all the tale of hard times in post-depression Kansas small town where she was a girl. She told us that she had never had a box of new crayons in her life, and how she had envied the other children at school. So, one Christmas, I was inspired to put a box in her stocking. Yes, she cried.

Another fun thing I did was to buy rhythm band instruments -- cymbals and sandpaper blocks and all that stuff -- and after the family Christmas pageant on Christmas eve, turn on some jolly Christmas music. We had a regular little orchestra going, with Grandpa taking the lead with the triangle. If there are children and oldsters too, this will produce some nostalgic fun.

It is all that type of stuff that makes it happy & special.

The person who made it deserves to have their work worn or used until it falls into pieces, not thrown in a landfill.

Oh, and you're totally right about the cashmere. The Chinese are shearing their goats twice a year, which results in shorter fibers that shed and pill and shred because they usually aren't spun tightly enough. Mongolian cashmere is starting to be done the same way to compete on the global market, but it's still usually better.

I was wondering how all of the sudden there was this large influx of cashmere sweaters on the market. It used to be really hard to find cashmere in regular retail stores. That explains it.

That's also why. The Chinese are doing economies of scale with very large herds, and now it's creating dust-bowl conditions in that area up by Mongolia. It's destroying their environment.

Honestly, I haven't bought any new cashmere in ages, and it's my favorite fiber to work with.

But, I had no idea it was as bad as all that!

Knitters are talking about it, mostly because cashmere's such a lovely fiber to knit with and is in so many higher-end yarns these days. Some are boycotting it entirely now. I have some in my stash that I won't get rid of, just knit up, but the best I've worked with in awhile is some American cashmere laceweight I got a few years back that I'm knitting into a shawl for a fellow DUer.

At the thrift shop. They're suprisingly empty on the day after Thanksgiving. Everyone's at Wally World, I suppose.

Hand made, Home made crafts.
DIY and HGTV addicts here

K&R

support individual sellers (like on Ebay) rather than mega corporations.

I've gotten so I buy a lot of items on Ebay. I've got a handmade wooden box on order to be made to my specifications right now from an Ebay artisan.

I want to remember not to go there. :-)

Lots of people out there making one of a kind items, handmade with love. Reconstructed clothing and accessories are a great unique gift too.
Just my two cents.

Great site, though.

Thanks for the considerations.

There is so much stuff out there going to waste. Stuff that can be used with only a little imagination applied.

Low cost and no packaging.

Ingenuity trumps credit.