Thrifting for your gifting

Christmas should be a time of joyfulness, having a laugh with family, friends, and colleagues, and feeling the warmth of the season grow within us. However, for many the season turns into a stressful time of grabbling with a seemingly endless list of tasks, purchasing gifts that we really can't afford, and running from shop to shop until we're about to just drop. It doesn't have to be like that.

Put the glitter and glow back into your Christmas by thrifting for your gifting. There is no need to rack up a big bill to bring some Christmas cheer to your loved ones. Let us help you Create Your Christmas this year with these fun and budget friendly gifting ideas. Plus, shopping with Tenovus Cancer Care will help us provide care to people affected by cancer all year long. 

Enjoy shopping for unique decorating and gift items in our Online Shop, at our eBay store, or in one of our high street charity shops located throughout Wales, the Midlands, and South West England.

The Office 'Thrift-exchange

Many companies host an office Christmas party where colleagues can put their 9-5 roles to the side and enjoy the spirit of the season together. Some celebrate with biscuits and tea in the conference room while others might rent out a hall and have a formal dinner. No matter the venue, adding an office 'thrift-exchange' can bring some memorable moments of laughter and stories to tell for the rest of the year. And it all can be done for just a few quid.

Why not suggest an office thrift-exchange this year? It can be organised very simply as a White Elephant gift exchange. 

Everyone who is participating brings a wrapped thrifted gift to the party and places it under the tree or on a gift table. Everyone draws a number to determine the order of play. The partygoer that draws number one goes first and selects a gift from the pile and unwraps it. That's their gift - for the moment. 

The next person can either select another unwrapped gift from the pile or steal the unwrapped gift from someone else. If a person's gift is stolen, they can either pick a new unwrapped gift from the pile or steal another gift, but they can't steal back the stolen gift. The thrift-exchange game is over when all the gifts have been unwrapped, and everyone stops laughing.

Not only is a thrift-exchange a fantastic team building experience, but gifts purchased help charities like Tenovus Cancer Care carry out our good work throughout the year. This helps spread the joy of the season to others in our communities.

Host a 'Best Thrift' contest

Who doesn't love a fun holiday theme party with friends? This year consider hosting a best thrift contest instead of the usual gift exchange. Challenge your friends to go out to their local charity shop or visit a charity's eBay store to purchase an item that matches the categories set by the host. Have fun making up categories that you think your friends will enjoy most such as ‘most festive’, ‘best find under £20’, ‘most creatively craft’, ‘most traditional’, or ‘best tie to a holiday movie’.

Whether you’re gathering at someone's home or coming together at your local pub, the best thrift contest is all about having a laugh and sharing a toast with our friends.

Family Secret Santa

Santa loves a bargain as much as the rest of us so how about turning this year's extended family gift giving tradition into a fun and thrifty Secret Santa event? Gather all the participating family members together in person or in an online chat. Announce the gifting budget limit and any other rules such as the gift must be thrifted or purchased from a charity that has meaning to the family. You can either have everyone write down their names and then draw from a hat without picking one's own name or link everyone to an online name picker. 

After that it is all hush-hush as family members go in search for that perfect, in-budget, and well-thrifted gift. Bring the Secret Santa gifts to the party but don't say who bought them. They're all from Santa, right? After a gift is opened it can be fun to try to guess who bought it. You also might ask the gift giver if there was a special reason that they chose to buy from the charity that they did.

Embrace child's play

For some families Christmas is all about the children so why not get them involved? Have a Secret Santa Kids Only gift exchange. Follow the same guidelines as you would for the adults and take your children thrifting. 
Not only will you help teach them the real value of money, but they will also feel the warmth that comes from searching for that perfect gift for their big brother, cousin, little sister, or family friend. You might need to cover the actual cost of the item, but they'll still feel the spirit of the season.

Make 'Thrifting for your Gifting' part of your family tradition

Not only will thrifting for your gifting cost you less - and we all need a little help making ends meet these days - but your purchase helps fund the important work of charities. And, if those two reasons weren't compelling enough, reusing and upcycling pre-loved items helps lower our carbon footprint, keep items out of landfill, and supports a greener and kinder environment. 

We encourage you to give 'Thrifting for you Gifting' a try this season. If you have other ideas on how to incorporate this into your holiday traditions we'd love to hear from you.