I am a strong believer of play being something that all children should experience and have access to no matter what their finacial background. Some parents like myself sometimes feel that if only we had more money we could offer our children more play opportunities. If only we had more money we could buy another puzzel, another set of lego etc. Since moving to Germany, leaving all my daughter's toys in Australia, and now having to live off a 1/3 of the income we had in Australia, I've had no choice but to get creative and resourceful regarding play resources. If you are in a spot of bother like I am below are outlined 10 ways to reduce your 'play bill'. Hope it helps!
TOP 10 WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR PLAY BILL
1. Make your own
If you are at all handy or crafty, be it with a sewing machine or powertools, then get online and look up some DIY toy ideas. Even if you can't sew or drill there are oodles of easy play stuff you can make in your very own kitchen using everyday house hold items like baking soda, shaving cream and gelatine, to name a few. A wonderful blog for such 'recipes' is Fun at Home with Kids. Here at Playing it Old School we also have DIY FRIdays with tutorials on how to make different things for playing with. Be sure to look out for those tutorials!
2. Take advantage of toy libraries and regular libraries
Get online and see if your local community have a toy library. This is a library that just has toys and like a regular library lets members borrow toys for a set amount of time. These are a fantastic way to keep your children happy by supplying them with different toys each fortnight. Some toy libraries charge a membership fee but it often isn't that much. The best part of borrowing toys is that if your child ends up not giving a hoot about the toy and leaves it in the corner to collect dust, you don't have to think what a waste of money that was!
Of couse you should also take advantage of your local regular library. Some libraries even have a small selection of toys they lend out. I know ours in Australia had a whole room of toys, from puzzles, hammering games to rocking horses. We didn't need to pay more to borrow, we just used our already free membership with the library. Your regular library is also good of course for borrowing those wonderful picture books, that can quite frankly cost a small fortune even from the Bookdepository.
Just a note- I have heard of online toy libraries where the toys are sent to you and then you post them back, but I looked at the cost and jeepers creepers you're better off buying your own. So online toy libraries I do not recomend, what a nasty ripp off!
3. Ask family and friends for hand-me-downs
You will be suprised how many toys are kept hidden in people's attics, lonely and in need of a child to play with. I know my parents have still got boxes of plush toys littering their attic. It really doesn't hurt to ask friends and family, who's children are grown up and have stopped playing with toys for any old toys they don't want anymore. They might even be greatful that you are helping them to clear some storage space.
4. Go shopping at thrift stores (second hand shops) and garage sales
You will be amazed at what you can get at garage sales and at thrift shops! We managed to get my daughter for Christmas a wooden train set, and by train set I mean more like 3 different train sets together for 35 Euros! Might still sound like a fair bit of money but if you were to buy the peices in a toy store you are looking at almost 100 Euros!
Be careful of the condition of the toys when making a purchase. You don't want to buy something that is ready to fall apart as soon as play gets a little rough. Anything that is battery operated ask them to test it with batteries there in front of you so you know it works.
5. Form a Swap Group with neighbours, friends or your parent groups, mothers groups etc.
Haven't got a toy library in your community? Why not start a swap group with people in your community. If you are part of a mothers group, for example, you might make an agreement to allow each other to borrow toys from each other. Everyone seems to have toys their children have lost interest in, why not swap these for someone elses? It would work just like a toy library rather than a real swap where you keep the toys you have swapped. Make sure the group has a reliable and clear tracking and borrowing system with one person in charge of the paper work. All members must agree on what happens if a toy is broken or lost etc. and how long one can have a toy for.
6. Take advantage of mother nature
There is nothing like getting outdoors when weather permits. Going exploring in local forests, feeding ducks at local lakes, playing soccer at a local park etc.
7. Take advantage of games that require little or no equipment
Games like hand clapping games, elastics, ball games or string games are great when you are on a budget because they only require minimal equipment to play. Things like strings and balls can also be used for a variety of games, meaning more value!
8. Don't be tempted to buy cheap and flimsy stuff from the $2 store
Now I am saying this because of my own experiences. I have been known to go into those dollar stores and think I'm getting a good deal on some cheap toys when in fact I end up paying twice as much because I have to buy them again after they were broken so quickly. Now this does not apply to all things you can buy in a dollar shop. Marbles, those bouncy balls, balloons, plastic farm animals, they seem to last but those little plastic fishing games, plastic cars etc, they I found lasted a whole 2 days of playing.
9. See if your local schools are clearing out toys and books.
As a teacher at a special school I saw first hand our school throw out or give away some of our out-dated books and equipment. Even though we thought of them as out-dated they were by no means not useful or still good for playing with. I am sure if you wanted you could just make a call to your local schools and ask if they to clear out resources every now and then and if so can you take some. Can't guarentee that they will or even let you have them, but hay it's worth a try!
10. Use stuff you already have around the house
Everyone knows of a little child who, having opened a toy from its box, ended up playing with the box while the toy sat on the side-lines. There's also the infamous tupperware or pots and pans draw we are told about as young mothers. So stop, before you think your child has nothing new to play with and you are getting your keys and wallet ready for a toy shopping spree, take another look around your house, boxes, yarn, those pots and pans, dry pasta, all make wonderful play things! Take a look online for ideas or just leave a pile of these kinds of things around for your children to access and watch them turn them into something magical.
This is by no means the end of my money saving ideas regarding toys and play, but I hope that these 10 do give you some ideas that you can try to help you too to reduce your play bill. If you have any other ideas regarding this subject please leave a comment below and I will try to include it in the next post about play costs.
Happy playing!
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