I recently stumbled upon a heart warming holiday tradition while scrolling through Instagram. One family shared how they had created a ritual where their children filled a bag with toys that they no longer played with. They popped the bag under the tree on Christmas Eve for Santa to take back to the North Pole, where he would fix the toys to give to children the following year. After Christmas, their parents donated the toys to a local op shop.
This got me thinking about the wave of toy donations that flood in after Christmas. My sister-in-law, who loves op shopping, was chatting with one of the assistants at a local op shop. The assistant mentioned how they always receive a surge of donations after Christmas. She wished this generosity came before the holiday season as many families come in before Christmas, hoping to find affordable toys for their children. With the ongoing cost of living crisis, there will undoubtedly be many families looking for budget-friendly gifts this year.
If your house is overflowing with toys, and you’re expecting even more to arrive this Christmas, why not get a little creative? What if your child’s Elf on the Shelf wrote them a letter, asking for help? The letter could explain that they need some more toys, and they need your child’s help to gather any toys they no longer play with. Your child can then collect those toys and place them beside their mischievous elf, who will take them back to the North Pole. Not only will this help you declutter your home before the holiday rush, but it will also ensure there are more toys available at your local op shop for other families to purchase.
If you want to give this idea a try, I’ve written a letter from your child’s elf asking for their help. You can print it out, sign it, and use it to guide the process. Click here for the template.
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