Isabel Mack, 44, from Winchester, Hampshire, plans to spend no more than £100 on second-hand Christmas gifts for her two children. She also gave her daughter a restored miniature shop for her fifth birthday instead of buying a new present, after her 75-year-old mother, Sorrel, rediscovered nostalgic toys from her garage.
A tradition of re-gifting retro toys
Mack, a founder, cleaned and restored a miniature shop complete with groceries and stock for her daughter's birthday. She expects to continue this tradition in future years, with "a couple of other bits" in the garage to re-gift, such as a toy nursery and cottage.
For Christmas, she will source second-hand gifts for her two kids, including books and figurines for a Toniebox screen-free audio player, and says she will not spend more than £50 per child.
Why second-hand matters
Mack says, "It's not about how much you spend - what you spend needs to be affordable to you – and kids can find joy in the smallest things." She adds, "I think the benefit of mum saving all my things is nice to not only avoid waste but save money and pass on the memories of the toys."
She gave her daughter the Sylvanian Families house last year and did it all up. Mack also notes, "I think there's an ongoing mismatch on whether people have the individual power over the climate crisis or corporations and the government and I think it can be both."
Shopping habits and family changes
Mack first started shopping pre-loved after having her son, now nine, buying pram accessories. "It was all about money," she says. "While he was small I was learning to make more sustainable choices and now it's more of an active choice around reducing waste." She adds, "I always look for second-hand first with the kids' clothing, toys, things we need for the house because I'm passionate about it. Vinted is my first port of call."
Two years ago, the adults in her family decided to stop giving Christmas presents to each other completely. "It was a surprise when a family suggested it," she says. "But it's taken a whole load of stress away on the run up to the day."
Past savings and future plans
In the past, Mack has saved £100 buying a Hot Wheels garage for just £25 on Facebook Marketplace and saved hundreds on an Octonauts playset from eBay. She also makes a list of items her children have shown interest in over the year to avoid "panic buying".
She founded and runs a social enterprise offering party kits of reusable tableware and decorations that can be borrowed instead of bought. Mack hopes campaigns like The Big Toy Swap, a community-run swap across England, will encourage people to normalise second-hand gifting. "There's a big campaign launched called The Big Toy Swap," she says. "I hope that will help people feel more confident gifting secondhand things."
Mack concludes, "It's the thought and the history and the love that makes that present important, not how much you spent on it or didn't."
