Buying Second Hand Xmas Presents……. Or Not At All!

[Smowball]

I was talking to a couple of friends this week about Xmas. One said that she looks at charity shops/EBay etc throughout the year and if she sees something that is almost new/ hardly used but she likes it then she will buy it and put it aside for Xmas. She says why does it have to be brand new if you know they will like it? Another friend says her and her husband don’t buy each other presents anymore as they were just buying stuff for the sake of it in the end, so what they do is they wait till Xmas is over, then they go out and choose something together that they want for either the house or the garden.
What are your thoughts on present buying?

[davebro]

//Smow, he's suggesting that you are buying stolen goods.//

Then it's up to ebay & the cops to police the sellers. Bit like paying tradesmen in cash when you "suspect" they are going to fiddle their taxes!

[Canary42]

Barry's got the right idea.

On occasions in the past where I've bought Xmas prezzies early because I've spotted them and thought them ideal for someone, by the time Xmas comes round I've forgotten where "somewhere safe" is, and can't find them, so end up buying more )-:

[gness]

I never buy just for the sake of buying someone a present. It has to be something I know they would love and if that means a charity shop find so be it.
One year when we were having a very large family get together we decided on a Secret Santa from a charity shop for no more than £2. That was a fun present swap.

[Barmaid]

If I see something that is perfect for someone, I'll snap it up. But generally, we have stopped doing Christmas presents as a family and instead we have a gathering to which we all contribute. Mr BM and I rarely bother with gifts - although I have in mind something that he will really appreciate for his birthday which he would not buy himself.

For two recent weddings I have not bought gifts either - I contributed all the floral arrangements for one and the majority of the food (home cooked) for the other.