Donating Toy Question

amyjoy18

So far I've donated the toys, and not let DD know I was doing it.  This is probably a silly thought, but I'm afraid she'll ask why we need to donate toys to other kids, and why Santa won't bring them toys.  I don't know how to answer it. 

How would you answer it?

Luckystar2

Specifically when we donate at Christmas we try not to focus on Santa but she did ask last year. We said that Santa would bring toys but that some kids aren't as lucky as dd and they may not get any other toys. For us dd gets a lot from Santa but she also gets stuff from us and other relatives so we talk more about some people might not be able to afford gifts. That seems good enough for her.

We've done just toys for tots type donations the last few years. But last year we went through an organization to buy for a specific girl and I had asked for one around dd's age. She really liked shopping for her and overall I thought that was a really positive experience.

At other times we donate dd's stuff and just explain about other kids who might not be as fortunate as dd and would really appreciate it.

MrsAmers

Santa brings each kid one or two big things. Everything else is from family or friends (even though my mom marks stuff from them like it is from Santa...). So we let them know that there are kids who aren't lucky enough to have family members who can give them as many nice things as they get or whose parents only have enough money for necessities and food, so when we have extra it is important that we share it. Admittedly, my kids aren't 100% on board with donating. They know sometimes and other times I remove stuff and they don't notice it is gone.

BethieB

In my online searches for tips on how to raise a grateful child this morning, they talked about donating and emphasing how kids our childrens' ages are naturally empathetic and want to help others. So maybe talk about how you know that DD loves to help others and how much fun she had with those toys, so now it would be nice to let someone else have fun with those toys. I do like April's idea of doing an organization for a specific child and getting them something (and plan to use it myself!), but that may not work if you're talking about donating gently used items of your own / not new.

Luckystar2

BethieB said:

I do like April's idea of doing an organization for a specific child and getting them something (and plan to use it myself!), but that may not work if you're talking about donating gently used items of your own / not new.

Yes the stuff we did had to be buying new. But if its in your budget I definitely think trying to find a kid around their age to buy for is great.

We had bought for the toys for tots type things and it was very abstract concept. But buying for a girl her age was a great process. We had a list of items the girl wanted but bought some other things and had leeway on specifics obviously. And it was a good lesson for dd. they were things she wanted too but we were buying them for somebody else.

We took her with us to drop off the stuff and they were great there. They showed her around and we got to see all the other donations and see that other people were donating too.

She still remembers the whole thing and will talk about it. The only downside is that she really wanted to just give it directly to the girl so she asks about if the girl liked the stuff, etc.

Anyways it was a good experience and we plan on doing it every year.

We also donate her used stuff too which is also great lessons as well! That is definitely hard but we have to get rid of toys!

denalea

Like others said, I would try to remove it from Santa.  I would also talk about how its a great thing to do to pass on the things we don't use anymore so that someone else can use them and they don't just get thrown away and someone doesn't have to buy it brand new.  That way families can use their money for other things.  You can also talk about how there would be no room in your house if you didn't get rid of anything.