for the love of hand-me-downs

Our local shops are so full to brimming with the brand new but incredibly cheap things we need and don't need that I am often more inclined towards a hand-me down, a secondhand, a used or previuosly loved item... 
Around half of J's toy boxes are filled with toys from my parents attic or charity shops or other hand-me-downs.  These, strangely are the most played with toys.  Do toys grow more intriguing once used by another child?  Do hand-me-downs have a little aura about them?  I think so.  Perhaps hand-me-downs feel unique as they stand alone, not chosen from a row of identical toys on the shelf?

Today has been a hand-me-down sort of day.  First some books, 10p each from the library sale.  Things like Goldilocks & the Tree Bears by Lauren Child and Polly Borland (which we already own in hardback but now I don't have to worry about it being torn!)  J loves the Goldilocks story and this version is particularly well done, quirky and each photograph illustration is exquisite in tiny, pretty detail; little teddy, little apples, little bowls of real porridge, little red shoes.  For 10p I feel like I stole it.  We also picked up Monkey & Me by Emily Gravett (we already own the brilliant Orange Pear Apple Bear, great for the tiny ones and later they can 'read' it themselves).  each page is a surprise on first reading and again the illustrations are fantastic, full of detail and yest mostly simple in red and black sketches.  Lastly a book full of the most wonderful artwork and a simple cat & mouse chase story, Mouse, Look Out by Judy Waite & Norma Burgin.  If you love black cats and old houses full of lost things then you will enjoy reading this to your little one.  Again I love the detail in this one, fallen leaves and ivy creeping, cobwebs, old newspaper and broken crockery.  Some very hasty reviews, but check these books out if you can... and hopefully you'll find them for 10p somewhere!

I heart hand-me-downs... and the same goes for clothes, particularly baby and little girl clothes that they grow out of so quickly.  Freecycle is great for this of course but also my friends and I with similar age girls, share clothes among them.  We live at different ends of the country but post the most pretty 'good will' clothes packages to each other now and again.  Its the most fun package to receive and we had one today for B!  So our living room floor is currently scattered with books and pretty prints in pink and red... not to mention the baby and the 3 year old ...  So I better get back to them.