Sinterklaas is back in the country and that means deputies are once again heading out en masse to score gifts. December can also be tackled sustainably by opting for second-hand Saint Nicholas gifts. Certainly scoring toys second-hand is easy. With these tips from Sint, you will not only find the very best presents, you will also save a lot of money!
Celebrate Sinterklaas sustainably with second-hand gifts!
Yes, that Santa Claus moves with the times too. He also sees that all those presents have quite a negative impact on the planet. Can it be more sustainable, he asks himself every year. Well and truly, he has discovered. Sinterklaas has become a big fan of second-hand gift shopping. And he also tries to motivate his helpers to look for second-hand presents. What can we learn from him? Exclusively for readers of thegreenlist.nl he shares his approach.
Start looking for second-hand gifts for St Nicholas in time
Scoring those second-hand presents simply takes a bit more effort. So the search for great second-hand Saint Nicholas presents starts extra early, sometimes as early as October. Especially if you are looking for something specific, second-hand can be a bit more of a search. It's usually not ordered today and delivered tomorrow. You have to go to a thrift shop for it or on Marketplace or Vinted make your move. Then the delivery time is often a bit longer. It's all well worth it, but Sinterklaas doesn't want to miss out and so he starts on time.
Second-hand gifts have the wow factor!
What Sinterklaas finds a really nice discovery of his new sustainable gift style is that those second-hand gifts are much better. Previously he could buy one toy for a child for an amount of money, now he can often buy much bigger second-hand ones. You get a lot more presents for the same amount of money second-hand. The fact that the toys are no longer in their original packaging does not bother him. The saint simply wraps it himself, for instance in a shoebox. All Saint Nicholas asks parents to do is tell their children that Saint Nicholas buys the presents second-hand. No child has a problem with that, but then they understand why it is not always in the original packaging.
Heard of the recycle pigs yet?
Retrieved from The Sinterklaas News they unfortunately do not yet have a role, but Sinterklaas has employed very special pieten for a number of years. These are recycleieten. They make sure presents keep going around. So another task for parents: go tidy up with your child. Collect all the toys no longer being played with in a big box or bag and put them next to the shoe. Then the recyclers will collect it. They will make sure that other children are made happy with the old toys. Super sustainable! And educationally a smart idea to teach children that they can also easily get rid of things.
Photo 1: second-hand games from the thrift store. Photo 2: second-hand gifts have the wow factor: you get more for your money. Photo 3: An overjoyed child with his second-hand Saint Nicholas presents.
Second-hand shopping tips from St Nicholas
By now, Sinterklaas has got a good nose for it too: where can he find the best gifts? This is your new shopping list if it's up to him:
- Local Facebook groups: ideal for small shoe presents and to place calls when looking for a specific gift.
- Marketplace: has his preference for toys and gifts for adults. Check out the list of popular toys here which can be easily found second-hand on Marktplaats around the holidays.
- Vinted: absolutely top for clothes, children's clothes, toys and increasingly adult gifts too. Tips on how to find second-hand stuff from Dutch Vinted sellers faster can be read in this article.
- Bookstores.nl: useful for second-hand books, although Marketplace also has a lot.
- Swip Swap and Swap Saint: toy exchange app and toy swap markets. Ideal for toys for toddlers (baby, toddler, preschooler).
Find more great places to score second-hand Saint Nicholas gifts in this article.
How does a Swap Saint swap event work
A Swap Saint swap market is really cool to experience once, especially if you have young children. The recipe is simple: you go to the swap market with a load of old (but good!) toys. You hand that in when you enter. The organisation (often organised locally by volunteers) determines the value of your contribution. You get this value expressed in points (think of this as fake money). From those points, you can pick out ‘new’ toys. These are toys that other parents have brought in as deposits. A Swip Swap swap event is a fun way to find free and sustainable presents for Sinterklaas!
Important: check second-hand gifts carefully before wrapping them
Finally, Sinterklaas has one last tip for auxiliary saints. Check the second-hand Saint Nicholas gifts carefully. Are games or construction toys complete? Is it clean (if not, wash it briefly), replace batteries before wrapping it. This way you can be sure the gift is absolutely right and avoid disappointment, because of course children want to be able to play with all those cool second-hand gifts straight away.
For sustainable wrapping, Sinterklaas benefited greatly from these items:
- Researching wrapping paper: because you can sustainably choose that too!
- Zero waste packing tips for the holidays!
More sustainable holiday tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: Ideas for sustainable shoe presents.
- Also see: DIY recipe for large vegan chocolate letter.
- Also see: the easiest recipe for vegan peppercorns.
- Also see: Which is more sustainable, buying something in shop or ordering it online?
Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
