crappy plastic xmas toys.

[hawkfeather]

hmm that sounds really negative..heh
anyway i am looking for some feedback about what other mommas do with any of the plastic-blah-xmas toys people give thier kids for xmas.. in the past our kids keep some.. we slowly wean them out.. or they look at it and say nice thank-yous and it goes to the thrift store..
we tell people not to give us plastics.. they know but still somehow there is always some stuff that shows up.. looking for feedback abotu how it is handeled at your houses!
THANX mommas!

[LeftField]

Are you talking about Christmas themed novelty toys or just plastic toys received at Christmas?

For the novelty toys, they theoretically get packed away with all the other Christmas stuff and never come back (i.e. given away).

For plastic toys that are received, that's trickier. In the past, I've secretly grabbed the offensive toy after people left and hidden it. No one asked for it again, so it was donated to charity. Last year, my oldest found one that I hid/marked for charity. It was a very loud and offensive talking "book" that I had repeatedly asked this particular person not to get (she had asked). I told my son that the "book" was too loud and annoying and it didn't have a volume switch. I offered to trade it for a Thomas train. He agreed.

This year, there are a few plastic toys that are harder to nab and donate, because the kids would notice. I noticed a wonderful phenomenon, however. That is, after one day of intense play, the gimmicky or talking toys are discarded. The kids prefer their open-ended, simple toys. The talking toys are usually pretty limited in scope, so after a day, no one is interested in pressing the buttons over and over or having the toy do tricks. The remote control car gets pushed around. The talking ride toy never talks, because the novelty of pressing its buttons is gone. People notice that they are not using these toys, and so they seem to listen to me more when they ask what the kids want. By controlling their initial environment, they developed a type of play that seems broader than what the gimmicky toys can offer.

So, in general, I try to hide and donate. But now I'm noticing that the kids get bored of these toys in short time. So at that point, it's easier to hide them, wait for a certain amount of time to pass, and then donate.

[Proudmomoftwinsplusone]

I try to keep them around for awhile in case the giver comes to our house for a visit. After that I finally give them to charity and think, good riddance.

[Autumnschild]

If I can't get rid of it before they notice, I usually weed them out pretty quickly. First I hide the toy for awhile, and then if they don't notice, I donate it. They do take a liking to some of them and it takes longer...like the talking book, for instance. (We got that one too and it hung around for about a year before I finally ditched it.)

[vegaenglit]

resale them and use the money to get good stuff. (i cut lucien's toys in half and got good money for them.)

ask for receipts, in case of "duplicates."

[imjustpeachytou]

Sell them on ebay. Also, Wal-Mart doesn't require a receipt for items under $50.

[Alkenny]

I've told my mom and stepdad repeatedly not to get the cheapo toys. My stepdad thinks it's quantity and not quality (even though all the presents stacked AROUND the tree make it look so crappy too).

I am hoping this year is different. My kids are so rough, they end up breaking most of the stuff before we even leave grandma's house. What a waste!