Whilst the kids are excited about all the toys they’ve received over Christmas, as a parent you’re probably dreading it. For a start, you simply don’t have the space in your flat for all these things! For every one thing that permanently enters your flat, something has to go to make space for it!  And whilst we do enjoy seeing our children so happy with their new gifts, there’s also a part of us that finds the whole gift unwrapping chaos rather vulgar.  What can we do then to avoid this overload of toys this Christmas? 

The first solution is probably the most obvious. Charity! Prepare for Christmas ahead of time by sorting through your children’s current toy collection. There are probably a lot of toys that they no longer play with or that are now not suitable for their age. Provided the toys are in good condition you can give them to a charity, of which there are many in Hong Kong that would be delighted to accept them. 

As for the toys that are broken or can’t be passed on, don’t just throw them away. They can all be recycled! Some agencies will even come to collect them! Visit www.wastereduction.gov.hk for further information about what can be recycled and the details of the agencies.

So that tackles the problem of the current toy overload, now what about preventing or dealing with the new one! If you have a large family and very generous grandparents who tend to buy more than one gift per child, then perhaps your answer is to introduce them to Two Presents (www.twopresents.com). Instead of them going out and buying actual gifts, your family can collectively put money towards one substantial gift (eg a bike, a computer etc) and half the money collected goes towards a charity of your choice.

If your family are technologically challenged and find using the internet a major struggle, then perhaps you can suggest that they pay for experience gifts or a subscription. For older children how about a subscription for the Kids National Geographic Magazine. Your children will then have something to look forward to every month for the entire year! Plus it will support their learning at school and open up a new world of discovery that they will love. Or what about asking for a new experience like rock climbing lessons or a musical instrument or theatre tickets? For younger children who don’t really know what’s going on and can’t yet keep track of who has given them what, why not suggest some money for their bank account instead of toys.

You will probably end up with more toys than you really need or want so make a plan now to deal with that problem. If your children are young enough you can whisk the present away immediately after opening it and hide it in your “present cupboard” to reuse for a future birthday present or for next year’s “Box of Hope” (www.boxofhope.org). They won’t even notice! For older children that do actually register what is going on you may need to have a rational discussion with them about the gift itself and that you don’t think it’s a suitable toy for them. You may find that they are quite happy for you to re-gift it, especially if there is another gift that they are excited about.

Merry Christmas to you all from Baby Central and we hope Santa delivered everything you asked for (and no more!).