gift giving guidelines for the roberts family hi! we've compiled these friendly guidelines to let you know the kind of gifts we really appreciate. Please read these guidelines carefully before purchasing a gift for our children. If this all seems to complicated, we offer two zero-effort solutions: 1) don't give anything at all (we're FINE with that, sincerely!), or 2) give cash, which we will deposit directly into their college funds... NEITHER of these options are discouraged... in fact, they are ENcouraged! We felt compelled to drafting this after witnessing a christmas and two birthdays in one year, which, with the numerous family and friends we have, generated collectively over one metric ton of garbage, including both packaging and old toys (and even some brand new ones), all of which could not possibly fit in our children's modest 1,200 square foot playroom (not including their bedrooms and adjoining 5 storage closets). The floor of the playroom had become a serious safety hazard, our children were tripping, cleaning up took hours every night, and worst of all, the children had lost interest in almost every toy, because they were simply overwhelmed by choices. This was not the right way to raise children, we thought. So we decided to do something about it. And we felt that the most direct route (after the initial purging of 95% of the toys) was to both restrict and refine the "inflow". Thus, this document. 1. WHAT WE LIKE we'll start simply. Here are the types of gifts we appreciate: your phonecall to our child, attendance at their party, or a handmade card on recycled paper is gift enough. don't feel compelled to buy a gift. they have enough, we promise! donate cash or bonds to our children's college fund. we will present them a list of donors when the time comes for them to spend it, or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, that's fine too. your time (for instance, a gift certificate to have our families play together at a future date) your thoughts items you or your child makes by hand (crafts) good books washable craft supplies (paint, crayons, paper, coloring books, pipe cleaners, etc.) unique craft items directly purchased from producers, with a story behind them (go to Fair Trade Federation, or Ten Thousand Villages, for a listing of shops in your area who specialize in this type of gift) unique items from your own history / family / collections, with a story behind them toys that grow (i.e. plantable seedlings, flower seeds) toys which show cultural diversity (i.e. traditional toys from germany, china, africa, etc.), with a story behind them there are also 2 toy +systems+ which we currently have significant investments in. both systems are highly modular, reconfigurable, and stimulate serious creative play and problem solving / construction skills. plus, our children love them. they are: lego DUPLO system (that is, the medium 1/4" pips... not the 1/2" mega-bloks, and not 1/8" 'classic' lego) thomas the tank engine wooden track system (NOT the motorized or plastic ones... the right ones are all wood with plastic wheels) we are not interested in developing inventory or investment in any other toy system at this time, so please do not buy us any playmobil, rokenbock, megablocks, fischer price little people, etc. If you don't know what we're talking about with regards to "system" toys, please call and ask. 2. USED, NOT NEW: RECYCLE TOYS! All that said, we strongly prefer used toys to new toys. We are alarmed about the 'disposable society' which has reached its highest form in north american consumerist society. we would ask, first, that you not purchase any NEW object for our children. we suggest strongly that you use the following resources to procure previously owned toys. your choice here can significantly reduce our society's maddening drain of precious global natural resources, and stop the spiral of endless production, consumption, and waste. used toys which your child no longer uses (don't worry about dirt and/or missing pieces! that just adds character and charm!) local consignment stores / pawn shops thrift stores (your church, goodwill, salvation army, etc.) garage sales online: ebay or amazon z-shops dumpster diving (or, a little less physically challenging, just pick them up off the curb on garbage day) 3. BUY LOCAL, NOT CHAIN! if you simply must purchase a new item (we still will not understand why... the "hot toy of the year" is of no concern to us, nor to our children), we would ask you to support a local merchant, keeping the profits (and the jobs) within the community. Simply translated, this means: stay away from Wal-Mart, Toys-R-Us, etc. These stores only serve to line the pockets of their executives and shareholders. They drain money from the local community and pressure locally owned businesses to close due to unabashed predatory pricing practices. To offer their low prices, they fiercely negotiate with third-world producers and demand lowest cost production, in effect insisting on sweatshop conditions for workers. For all these reasons, please find a locally owned toy store (we know, they are hard to find, but they do exist, and they are owned, operated, and run by your neighbors)... if all else fails, simply resort to point 2, above, and buy used! :) 4. CONSIDER THE PLIGHT OF SANTA'S ELVES we are sensitive to the plight of sweatshop laborers throughout the world, particularly those in the far east (china, indonesia, etc.) where more than 90% of our toys are produced. workers in these countries have no rights whatsoever, and teenage children routinely are forced to work 6 day, 100 hour weeks at monotonous tasks, in unhealthy working conditions, for pathetic wages. When you buy these products, you are personally and directly driving up the demand for such labor. Less than 5% of what you pay goes to the actual worker; the vast majority goes to the multinational corporation who markets and distributes the product. This tragedy is an inevitable part of life, and we purchase just as much "Made In China" goods as our neighbors. But we have come up with a twist on the purchase which at least works directly towards changing these conditions. It goes something like this: If the toy you purchase (new or used) is made anywhere other than an industrialized nation (i.e. any country other than canada, europe, USA), we ask that you carefully note the retail list price (not the sale price, clearance price, consignment price, or anything else). We then ask you to donate matching funds to one of the following charities: Chinese Staff and Workers' Association - www.cswa.org National Mobilization Against Sweatshops - www.nmass.org Amnesty International - www.amnesty.org American Friends Services Committee - www.afsc.org Bread for the World - www.bread.org Food First - www.foodfirst.org This is not a hypocritical request. We follow this program ourselves. In addition to helping workers in real need, it fosters an incredible understanding of just where our nation's material wealth is being provided from. If this "cost-doubling" donation makes the toy you are considering purchasing prohibitively expensive, then buy a cheaper gift! Consider how much said item would cost if it were "made in USA". Another strategy is to pool gift-giving with another friend / family member. And remember, your donations are tax deductible! Save your receipt! 5. WHAT WE REALLY DON'T WANT And finally, here's the explicit list of what we would rather not receive (no offense to past gift-givers!): candies / food purchased clothing (old clothes from your child's closet are fine) disposable plastic objects stuffed animals toys that have a single, unalterable purpose and do not stimulate thinking / problem solving cheap plastic things that are poorly constructed battery powered things that make loud annoying noises matchbox or other die cast metal cars (we have hundreds already) drivable vehicles (again, we already have enough) Play-Doh and/or Play-Doh accessories (again, we already have enough, and sometimes make our own) videotapes or DVDs (kill your television!) motorized vehicles any gun-like, gun-wielding, or military-themed toy 6. THANK YOU! We know, to some of you, this sounds like a big pain in the ass, and perhaps even a bit arrogant, judgmental, and/or hypocritical. But it seriously just represents an honest effort for us to stem the insane inflow of plastic into our house, and to stop the inherent waste (and poverty) that this consumerist habit is causing throughout the world. We hope you can help us. Thank you for thinking of our children! Love, -Greg