How to Spend Less on Toys 2by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 03 Aug 2009 06:49 AM Take a look around your home right now and see what toys you have. If you are a grandparent and don't have any toys in your home, think about all of the toys you might have purchased for those special kids. Add the cost of them up in your mind. An estimation is fine. Are your surprised by how much you have spent? The cost of toys is usually more than we realize. But rather than deprive your children of a fun childhood filled with toys, why not employ some strategies that will help you extend the life of those purchases while creating a rich environment for your kids? In part 1 I shared some ideas for spending less on toys. Now here is part 2. Create a special box of toys or rotate toys. These are two techniques that many parents use to extend the interest in toys for their kids. You can either create a box of toys that only comes out on special occasion, such as when you really need the kids to occupy themselves, or take away up to 1/4 of the toys and keep them away for a few weeks. Then bring them back out and box up a different 1/4 of the toys. This way kids will rediscover their old toys and want to play with them. Have a toy exchange with friends and family. If there are toys that your kids are ready to give up, you can exchange them for new toys from other families. Everyone winds up with something new and you don't have to spend any money at all, except maybe for some coffee on the day of the exchange. Visit a toy library. Believe it or not, they do exist, sometimes as part of a regular public library, and sometimes part of a community organization. At a toy library, you can check out different toys just as you might check out books. There are also places where you can rent toys, but the cost savings isn't that great. Two other quick ideas that will lead to less toys in the house:
Check back later today for the second part of this article. You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here! Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  thequeenofthecastle (413) 04 Aug 2009 09:54 AMI love this series of articles. My husband and I are very commited to limiting the number of toys and being very intentional about the longevity of our toys. It's an uphill battle with well intending family members, great deals at the thrift store that are hard to pass up and of course the kids themselves asking for them. But I think you have some great points. We rotate toys, trade toys, and just let the kids get bored enough to get creative. It's amazing what happens when you LET your children become bored. Their imagination sparks and they started to create new things from old things and see everything in new ways.  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 05 Aug 2009 08:29 AMThanks Queen! I forgot to mention that another great toys is a parent! Spending time with the kids, even if it is just playing simon says or follow the leader can be a great substitute for store bought toys. Community Tags frugal living, Kids, saving money, toys Discuss this article
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