Mum planning £100 Christmas says 'it's not about how much you spend'

Mum planning £100 Christmas says 'it's not about how much you spend' Isabel Mack says adults in her family have stopped buying gifts for each other from Christmas - something that she claims removes 'stress' from the big day A mum has spent nothing on her daughter's birthday present and will only be spending £100 on her kids' Christmas gifts, by obtaining almost all of them second-hand. Isabel Mack, 44, mostly buys second-hand items for her children, but this year she re-discovered all her nostalgic retro toys after her 75-year-old mum, Sorrel, moved house and dug out the relics from her garage. So instead of buying a gift for her daughter's fifth birthday, she cleaned and restored a miniature shop complete with groceries and stock. Isabel expects to carry on the tradition in future years, with "a couple of other bits" in the garage to re-gift, like a toy nursery and cottage. And for Christmas she'll be sourcing second-hand gifts for her two kids - books and figurines to add to a Toniebox screen-free audio player - and says she will not be spending more than £50 per child. Isabel, a founder, from Winchester, Hampshire, says: "It's not about how much you spend - what you spend needs to be affordable to you – and kids can find joy in the smallest things. "I think the benefit of mum saving all my things is nice to not only avoid waste but save money and pass on the memories of the toys. I gave my daughter the Sylvanian Families house last year and did it all up. "I have such happy memories playing with the shop and I was excited to get in the garage and put it all together and wrap it up. I think there's an ongoing mismatch on whether people have the individual power over the climate crisis or corporations and the government and I think it can be both. "I think we've forgotten that individuals have the power to drive demand and the power to stop that demand. Everything we buy for the kids, like a coat from Vinted, I think, 'That's a coat that's not had to be made'." Isabel first started shopping pre-loved after she had her son, now nine, buying pram accessories. "It was all about money," she says. "While he was small I was learning to make more sustainable choices and now it's more of an active choice around reducing waste. "I always look for second-hand first with the kids' clothing, toys, things we need for the house because I'm passionate about it. Vinted is my first port of call and I find it easier. There's a huge amount of stock on there and you can do it from home." Isabel mainly gives second-hand gifts and two years ago the adults in her family decided to stop giving Christmas presents to each other completely. This year, she will be buying her son books about soldiers and battleships as he is interested in those topics, as well as different characters for her children's Toniebox from Vinted. The screen-free audio player works by placing a character figurine – e.g. Buzz Lightyear or Bluey – on the box which triggers playback of fairytales, songs and educational material. In the past she has saved £100 buying a Hot Wheels garage for just £25 on Facebook Marketplace, as well as saving hundreds on an Octonauts playset from eBay. "It was a surprise when a family suggested it," she says. "But it's taken a whole load of stress away on the run up to the day. It was my job to sort the presents so I've really enjoyed not having to do that. "I enjoy gifting, I think with the secondhand thing it requires a bit more thought and planning but you end up with a more appreciated gift." Isabel also makes a list of all the items her children have shown interest in over the year to avoid "panic buying". She even founded and runs a social enterprise that offers party kits of reusable tableware and decorations that can be borrowed instead of buying single-use items. She hopes campaigns like The Big Toy Swap - a community-run swap across England – will encourage people to normalise secondhand gifting. "There's a big campaign launched called The Big Toy Swap" she says. "I hope that will help people feel more confident gifting secondhand things. "I started with my own kids and extended it to my friends' kids. Sometimes I'll write little notes like, 'My son loved these diggers, we hope you'll love them too' so it's explicit it's pre-loved, but very much loved. "It's the thought and the history and the love that makes that present important, not how much you spent on it or didn't." Ensure our latest health headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings