Anonymous wrote:How about:

No gifts expected; we try to reuse/ recycle, so hand me down toys/clothes welcome (but, again, not expected

I think this is okay, but I'd be a little confused about whether you really wanted the hand-me-downs or not. And if we didn't happen to have anything on hand, I'd wonder if I should get something.
"No gifts, please" is just easier all around.

Anonymous wrote:Too bad it seems weird to everyone. I wonder why we care so much about manners, and not about the plastic garbage contaminating our oceans. Seriously — I so wish people would stop buying and manufacturing things like toys. We have enough toys in the world already. We just need to find a better way to share them.

Then share them. Where is the issue? We pass on or sell ours. Most people do.

Anonymous wrote:Too bad it seems weird to everyone. I wonder why we care so much about manners, and not about the plastic garbage contaminating our oceans. Seriously — I so wish people would stop buying and manufacturing things like toys. We have enough toys in the world already. We just need to find a better way to share them.

+1. Manners and optics mean nothing if we have no Earth to live on.

Too bad it seems weird to everyone. I wonder why we care so much about manners, and not about the plastic garbage contaminating our oceans. Seriously — I so wish people would stop buying and manufacturing things like toys. We have enough toys in the world already. We just need to find a better way to share them.

I think it’s weird but also sounds like you and your friend group would are prime candidates to donate your stuff to more needy kids.

And, OP, used stuffed animals are just gross.

So weird. No.

How about:

No gifts expected; we try to reuse/ recycle, so hand me down toys/clothes welcome (but, again, not expected

Technically, etiquette rules dictate that gifts never even be mentioned on an invitation.

The workaround might be to send a separate email saying please, no gifts. Or, be proactive and state that all gifts will be donated to a specific charity, in which case, you'll only want to donate new, unwrapped. See how this gets more complicated?

No, you don't mention gifts at all. Demanding a handy down gift is bizarre. We regularly purge stuff so more than likely if my children are not playing with it, we pass it on. Enough with the no gift, charity gift or what ever demand you have.

In theory I really like this -- we all need to purge old toys and it's much more environmentally friendly to just reuse. But I don't think you can really put that on an invitation. Just say no gifts.

I think it's a little confusing. I might tell people gifts not necessary on the card and if anyone asks say that if they have a loved-but-outgrown toy they're looking to get out of their house, Larla would be happy to take it off their hands.

I'm in the same kind of friend group but we just give each other the outgrown nice things. I would find it strange to give or receive a secondhand gift in this way - like wrapped up as if it's new, instead of brought over in a box on a night we were going to have dinner with the family anyway. In general I think your intention makes sense but it's so unusual you'd have to write a paragraph to explain what you mean, so it's better to go with your first instinct and maybe put the word out to a friend or two in conversation about your broader background idea.

Nope super weird and I'm firmly in the "no gift" camp. Just say no gift. Organize a donation drive or something.

No, I think it would look weird and tacky.

A better way to do this might be to organize a toy swap among friends.

Is this an ok thing to write on a birthday evite?

My friends all have tons of items I know they are always saying they want to purge. Our crowd is the type to buy pricey gifts for friends. Everyone can afford to buy new. We can afford to buy new.

I was going to do no gift but thought this may be better. We have gone to used book parties or charity donation parties.