How to donate used toys this Christmas

Christmas is doing something extra for someone

Charles M. Schulz

Donating used toys is one of the best actions you can take during this time of year. With this movement, you contribute to ensuring that children in difficult socioeconomic situations can receive their Christmas present, you do your bit to launch the circular economy - whose maxim is the three Rs; in this order, reduce, reuse and recycle -, you fight against planned obsolescence and you extend the useful life of each toy, which is also beneficial for the planet and the environment.

When donating second-hand toys , the OCU offers a series of tips: they should be in good condition, they should have all their parts and they should be in their original packaging or in a closed bag separate from other toys. In other words, it is not advisable to donate broken, damaged or spoiled toys. The aim is to give them a second life and for people to enjoy them.

One of the things you can do is sit down and reflect with your children. Which toys, due to age or wear, do they no longer use? Explaining to them how they can help other children or how happy their toys will be doing other things, making other people happy, will foster empathy and sensitivity towards families with worse economic circumstances. It is important and valuable that they themselves choose which of their toys they want to donate.

There are various campaigns underway and there are various places where you can donate used or new toys at Christmas . Below you can find some of them. To find the ones that are more local or municipal, ask your local council or search the Internet for the alternatives in your province.

Where to donate new toys for Christmas

• Alcampo : you can give away toys in 76 establishments of the famous supermarket chain until December 20, as part of its traditional campaign “No child without a toy”.
• Red Cross : On the website Their Rights at Stake you can donate 3 euros so that vulnerable children can have a toy - which will be new, non-sexist and non-warlike, in line with the values ​​of the NGO.
• RTVE and the Crecer Jugando Foundation : The “A toy, an illusion” campaign sells five-euro pens, which are sold in large and small stores and in post offices, to raise funds to make toys and then deliver them to children.
• Reyes Magos de Verdad (True Three Wise Men): This non-profit initiative allows you to give the gifts you have requested to children, the elderly and the needy. It works like this: participants receive a letter with the ideal gift - which costs between 25 and 35 euros - which you can buy, wrap and leave at a collection point.
• UNICEF Blue Gift : This initiative allows you to donate supplies such as vaccines, educational materials, first aid kits, games or treatment for malnutrition. Find out more here .

Where to donate used toys for Christmas

The OCU and other websites compile a valuable list of organisations that collect second-hand toys at Christmas - and many of them, also during the rest of the year.

• Diocesan Caritas : ask your parish how you can help by donating toys in good condition, as it is common to organize toy collection and distribution campaigns during the Christmas season. You can also make a donation in kind of food, clothing, furniture, household items or equipment.
• Share and Recycle: You can help with the Share and Recycle campaign -also from the Crecer Jugando Foundation- by taking second-hand toys to some of the collaborating points. It is important to check them to ensure that they are in good condition and to make sure that other children can enjoy them. You can deliver them to numerous points, looking for the closest ones on the map on the website. Some of them are Mailboxes or El Corte Inglés.
• Bene bene : is an app that connects beneficiaries with benefactors, very useful for donating things you no longer need or necessary resources for people who are close to you. Toys are included, but you can also donate appliances, books, food, clothes, furniture or services.
• Valora Foundation : The Sapos y Princesas website highlights that this association has been collecting toys - as well as other items - for Christmas for almost two decades. In 2023 alone, they have managed 347,876 donated items throughout the year.
• Notice board: The app promotes the Letter to the Three Wise Men in collaboration with more than 50 associations throughout Spain. It works as follows: you must fill out the online letter with the used toys you wish to donate. Afterwards, your child will receive a personalized thank you letter from the Three Wise Men themselves. The platform will contact the charity closest to your town so that they can directly manage the collection and delivery of the toys you have donated.
• Juegaterapia: The foundation that helps hospitalized children with cancer through play has numerous initiatives to make their treatment period lighter while they are in hospital. Thanks to them, more than 27,000 consoles and tablets have been donated. If you want to donate video games, baby pelones or any of these technological devices, contact them.

There are many more charitable organizations such as Engrunes, Kopera, Educo, Los Reyes Majos, Solidança or Traperos de Emaús. There is no excuse not to donate used toys this holiday season!