How to buy fewer gifts for your kids

How to buy fewer gifts for your kids (and where to get the ones you do buy)

Talk to your children

Today’s children are really receptive to conversations on how we can tackle climate change, make the world a better place and do things differently. In fact, a lot of the time, children can teach us adults a thing or two about making more conscious choices.

So this year, sit down with your children and explain that you’re trying to make good choices, and you never know what ideas they’ll come up with. 

If you still have children who believe in Santa, this can be a slightly different conversation, focused on the fact the big man himself is trying to be a kind citizen and a good elf employer. Maybe he’s even embracing the circular or sharing economy and delivering preloved gifts!

By communicating what you’re planning on doing and why, you’ll avoid any hard conversations around a potentially smaller gift pile on Christmas morning.

Organise a swap

If, like the parents amongst us at Team Goodfind, you find yourself in endless parents’ WhatsApp groups discussing everything from birthday parties to parents’ socials, why not throw a gift swap into the mix?

If your child’s friends have younger siblings, some of your own children’s gifts from last year might be perfect for them this year. And vice versa, if you know parents who have older children, they might be itching to shift some of their toys or games before the Christmas influx begins.

This can be done virtually, via the dreaded class chat, or you could even book out a room at your children’s school or nursery where people can bring unwanted toys or other gifts, and take some away in exchange. Anything that’s left over at the end can be donated to charity. Sorted.

Club together

We don’t know about you, but we think kids’ gift choices are getting more premium and more expensive every year. If you’re feeling like you need a second mortgage (not recommended at winter 2022 interest rates) just to buy your kids’ gifts, talk to your family about clubbing together to buy one big gift.

This means your child gets what they’ve asked for, and you don’t get inundated with messages from aunties, uncles and grandparents saying “what would they like this year?”. 

Again, it’s worth chatting with your child in advance to make sure they know what to expect, but if it’s a matter of getting or not getting that coveted “main present”, we’re pretty sure most of them will sign up in a flash.

Photo by RODNAE Productions

Making more ethical choices for the items you do need to buy

This Christmas, Goodfind is encouraging families to reduce the number of gifts they buy, before choosing more ethical & sustainable options. We call it small list, big impact, and we want to empower you to make more conscious choices when it comes to Christmas gifting.

Find ethical gifts for your all the kids in your life in our curated list of 10 Conscious Gifts Ideas for Kids this year. 

Ailuna for Teams

If you and your team are ready to kick-start your sustainability journey and implement small, easy habits towards a more sustainable lifestyle, download the Ailuna app today or email life@ailuna.com to learn more about our sustainability engagement programs for teams. We use behavioural science techniques to make building habits fun, and most importantly to make those habits last.