Hand-Me-Down Treasures Make Great Holiday Gifts

I’m lucky that my older brother’s clothes were not forced upon me as hand-me-downs – at least, not that I can remember in that scarred-me-for-life kind of way. I wasn’t fortunate to have any older sisters, female cousins, or close family friends to hand down to me.

A few holiday seasons ago, my little cousin Emily showed up at our family gathering with three garbage bags full of her clothes. She said that one of her favourite moments as a young girl was when I would pass along my no longer valued items – from pants and shirts, to belts and bags. I had never known that she enjoyed this pseudo-bonding with her bigger cousin; but I had a chance to understand it myself when she arrived with her own discards.

Though they were intended for our two much younger cousins, each of the women in my family paraded around the house in Emily’s clothes, nabbing up anything that suited us.

This holiday season, consider how some of your junk could be someone else’s treasure.

This may work among relatives but wrapping up your old tennis racket might not be an appealing option for your office Secret Santa exchange. My mother keeps a drawer of trinket gifts that were given to her but don’t necessarily suit her needs. She then has a range of brand new items that can fit most occasions and might end up being a perfect fit with its new recipient.

For a larger-scale gift drawer, The Freecycle Network is a great organization that recycles unwanted items. From the freecycle site:

Membership is free, and everything posted must be FREE, legal and appropriate for all ages. To view the items being given away or sought in (your region), you must be a member of the local group. To view the local group posts, visit the local Yahoo Group where they are located by clicking on the link.

You need to sign up for a Yahoo! ID, which can be a hassle, but is worthwhile. Then you need to wait for approval by the group owner, which prevents impulse joins. But once you’re in, you have access to hundreds of great finds – and they’re all free! You can also unload your own things with the peace of mind that comes with knowing they’re not going to land in a dump somewhere.

Check out some of the gems from our Toronto group: