Last week you read about our adventures in green birthday party planning–but that’s only half the story. Our quest for quality gifts started long before the birthday festivities when I declared that we could buy all Roscoe’s birthday presents used.

My husband was a bit skeptical, especially because we had a very specific birthday list for our son.  It was short, but we knew he’d enjoy his presents and they wouldn’t crowd our small house:

  • A tricycle
  • A collapsible play tent
  • A wooden city bus (He’s obsessed with public transport)
  • A book

After weeks of searching online for a used trike, my husband started pricing new tricycles at around $50-$100 each.  My tightwad soul couldn’t bear spending that much on one gift.  So with a purse full of small bills, I hit the garage sale circuit to see if we could find everything we needed. 

I went to just two sales, but ended up scoring a tricycle, a Radio Flyer wagon, a train play tent, and another tricycle for friends (brand new in the box) for just $16 total. 

Honestly, I am still recovering from the high.  

The tricycle and wagon needed a little work, but at $5 apiece we were happy to do it.  (I’ll be posting a blog on the rusty wagon makeover next week.) The materials cost about $12, which brought our total birthday bill to $28.  

Since it would be tough to find a used wooden city bus at garage sales, we managed to find one that’s made here in town for $25.  Oregon Wooden Toys has a whole line of handcrafted vehicles that are great quality and very reasonable. 

To complete our list, my husband found a hardcover Thomas the Train board book for just $6 at our favorite used book store.

So, we could have bought this tricycle for $59 dollars, but instead we spent $59 and ended up with everything in the picture to the right–without the environmental or economic expense!  The total price of all the items we bought new would have been $233.96 and come with at least four cardboard boxes and/or plastic bags!  

After sharing my yard sale bliss with my siblings and my mom, we’re considering a family holiday of used gifts this year.  We’ll be able to pick out nice quality toys for the kids without having cellophane and cardboard strewn all over the living room floor when the gifts are opened.  Since those toys will all go in reusable gift bags, cleanup will be easy.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be searching out sales that can provide holiday presents for Roscoe, his cousins, and maybe even my resale-resistant hubby. I can’t yet say that he flings off the covers on Saturday mornings and bolts out the door to go yard sale shopping, but with deals like these, it’s only a matter of time before he’ll get hooked on my thrifty, green addiction.

If you have a simple idea that can save money and the planet, please join our Thrifty Green Thursday blog carnival.  For directions on where to start, just click here.   (Please make sure to follow the directions or we may have to delete your link!)  Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my garage sale ecstasy!