What's new

hand me downs? PP 2.8

I love hand me downs. I have four boys so the clothes move from one to the next fairly quickly. Many of them came from their older cousin, too. I was concerned that I was going to have to start buying stuff for my oldest but then friends of ours came along with a couple of garbage bags! yay! They mostly don't mind as there are things in various styles in each of them. I find that one will wear a certain shirt a lot and the next one not at all and that's OK!

I was the oldest girl in my family but I grew early and had some aunts and cousins who were about 8 or 9 years older than me. They were tiny so in no time I was the same size as them and I got all the really cool hand me downs! I used to love to go "shopping" when a couple of garbage bags made it to the living room.
 
I was an only child. My cousins were all younger than me by a lot.. so no hand me downs for me. As for my boys, we have traded clothes with neighbors and friends, and I've kept/received back my older son's clothes for the youngest to wear. The only issue is that occasionally I will not be able to re-use a piece of clothing for the texture, my youngest is a little more sensitive to the actual materials.
 
We have used and given handy me downs a lot over the years and not just with clothes but also with toys. My last two are 8.5 years apart and when #5 out grew some toys I packed them up and put them in the attic until baby #6 was old enough to play with them. My married son has asked a few times if I'm ready to give up the three tubs of Duplo I have for his three kids and I said no way, those are staying at Grandma's house (not to mention the day care kids all play with them too). So yes, I love handy me downs/regifting/thrifting.
 
I have a circle of friends with various aged boys and girls and all the clothes and shoes get passed on. Kids clothes are so over priced at a lot of places these days.
 
HeatherB said:
What never seems to get handed down is shoes. They get worn out before they could go to the next kid. And since we've got a sports guy, we're buying runners, indoor soccer cleats, outdoor football cleats, it gets so expensive!
Click to expand...

I draw the line at shoes! Except for church shoes that are only worn once a week for 3 hours, and outgrown in about 4 months. All other shoes are new! I read somewhere that you shouldn't hand down shoes because of how your feet grow and where you put your weight. So once he was walking, no previously worn shoes. And they are so expensive!
 
i still have a plaid skirt, handed down from my 2 sisters. Treasure (but it red)
I still have all the clothes i ever owned since high school. Am at a weight now to where the ones from 1978 might fit, bell bottoms but that ok
I love flannels shirts i find at thrift shops (shoes - never), and tanks from walmart. Jeans from the girls department :(
 
We love hand-me-downs in this family too! My sister and I both had two boys and they are all about a year apart... I had a boy, she had a boy, I had another boy, she had another boy... so when they were babies we just passed all the boys clothes back and forth. Now we keep the clothes in our families because when my oldest is grown out of something it goes straight into my youngests closet. I also had a couple of friends that have boys just larger than mine and they pass tons of stuff along to us. It's rare that I have to buy new things except for jeans... those don't last too long on boys! And shoes. Ugh. Shoes alone for boys could break me.
 
We hardly ever get them, but I'm thrilled when we do. We pass along my DD's clothes to our neighbor, who thankfully has the same body shape as her, and she loves getting the clothing. I try to either consign, donate or pass along everything they don't use.
 
My kids have almost always been bigger/taller than friend's or family so we have never really gotten any. I'm always the one who gives our stuff to others. My daughter's stuff always goes to my oldest niece. They are only 1 month apart in age, but their size difference is unreal. My daughter is 5'5" and my niece is like a foot shorter and definitely weighs less..LOL My oldest nephew is 4 months younger than my son, but has always been taller and way skinnier, so he never has been able to wear my son's stuff. My son's stuff lately has been going to my neighbor across the street, who has 3 boys. I also donate A LOT of stuff every year.
 
StarryEyedDesigns said:
My kids have almost always been bigger/taller than friend's or family so we have never really gotten any. They are only 1 month apart in age, but their size difference is unreal.
Click to expand...
My almost 6 year old has started getting my almost 12 year old brother's hand me downs. It's a little crazy to think about, but my son is tall, and my brother very short, so it's perfect. They are only about 4 inches apart in height.
 
My boys are 2yrs apart, everything but underwear, socks, & shoes gets handed down. They have a ton of their own new stuff too. Especially, since I like dressing them similarly. They don't mind any of it. My mom always brings t-shirts from her travels & they prefer having the same shirt. Also, when out in large spaces, they're dressed the same. If one gets lost, we point to the other & say "he looks just like this". It's only happened twice, but that's enough for me. Ooh, I got off topic, as usual. When everything's outgrown & still in great shape, we donate to the local women's shelter.
 
We have 4 boys, so there were lots of clothes passed on when they were younger - not so much now that they're older teens. They always put holes in the jeans and pants though, so they often were not passed on! And when they're outgrown at our house, they go to a friend with boys. Clothes are expensive and hand me downs help! A missionary friend of mine moved out of the country and passed some of her clothes on to me before she left. It was like Christmas! I love it!
 
Back
Top