Train up a child in the way they should go: And when they are old, they will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
It is important to teach our children about the importance of sharing, and not hoarding of their toys and items. These are important principles that they will grow up with. They quickly grow out of certain toys and games, and another child’s toys are exciting!
So how can you organise a toy swop? This could be for your Sunday School or between a group of parent friends.
How to organise a toy swop
A toy swap can be a small informal gathering, a huge community event, or anywhere in between. Decide what scale you have the time and inclination to organize.
Find other swappers
Ask other parents with children of similar ages if they’re interested in participating. Decide if you want to keep the swap smaller with just a few friends or want to put on a bigger neighborhood or community-wide swap or church swap.
Get kids on board
Talk to your child about the swap and have him or her pick out which toys are ready to pass along. Once your child realizes he or she will be receiving a toy in trade, they will be more likely to participate.
Set some ground rules
Do toys have to have all their working parts, or can they be missing a piece or two? Completeness is more vital for some toys than others, but all toys should be in good enough condition that other kids will actually want them. Every toy should get a good cleaning before coming to the swap.
Decide who can come
Many parents report having the process work far better if the children do not participate at the actual swap. This saves the inevitable struggles over electronic music-playing gizmos that will quickly drive parents insane or last-minute changes of heart about that doll or block set. You can make it an enjoyable grown-up social event, and celebrate together having holiday shopping done early without any exhausting (and expensive) trips to the mall.
Decide how value will be assigned
Will each toy be considered of equal value, or will you credits (rand or dollar or just a number? A credit system might be fairer if you want to allow for toys ranging from very small (a simple doll) to very large (a scooter or big building set), but it also adds to the complexity of the process. If your swap is smaller, you could also work out fair trades on the spot, exchanging a collection of smaller items for one larger ones. For big swaps, credits are probably the way to go. Have a couple volunteers distribute tickets representing the amount swappers have to “buy” other toys.
Display the gear
Set everything out so people can see it easily. You could try grouping similar items together to make the “shopping” process easier
Let the trading begin
You can draw numbers and take turns, or everyone can look and choose at their leisure.. Each participant should have a bag or box to put their “new” items into.
Donate the rest
Take any leftover toys from your toy swap to a thrift shop or charity of your choice.
Swaps can work for lots more than toys. Once you’ve got an enthusiastic base of swappers, you could organize swaps for clothing, kitchen gear, or sports equipment. Use your imagination and help trim your family’s ecological footprint for all sorts of items you used to buy new.
From https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/how-to-host-a-toy-swap/