The little man is turning one

I wrote this for friends and family when the little one was turning 1 – we’d learnt how much ‘stuff’ you acquire when having a child! Plus having lived in the same house for many years, were desperately trying to have less possessions not more. We were so lucky that when he was born we were given bags of hand-me-downs from friends and family and my gorgeous Mum had also saved so many of my childhood things. He genuinely didn’t need anything but knowing that some people would definitely want to buy something, I decided to write a little poem to give them some ideas. Back in 2019 we were starting to become even more aware of habits and areas of our lives we wanted to change and buying second hand or from small businesses is something we both really believe in. So anyway, here’s what I wrote and I’m sure we received more second hand gifts than brand new! Which was a huge win, normalising this plus also trying to encourage not gifting things at all/ gifting time is all still a work in progress!

The little man is turning one

It’s come round far too soon

Thoughts turn to buying gifts

So we’ve some tips before you do…

We are trying to do our bit

And in doing so teach Noah too

That second hand and handmade

Are just as good as brand new

So please get thrifty with his gifty

Get trawling those charity shops

Don’t forget Facebook Marketplace

Where bargains can be snapped up

He’d love something made by hand

If you’re the more crafty type—

Or why not find a small business and

Support them; the time is ripe!

Don’t panic, do not worry

The boy has a savings account

He’ll have time to choose, there’s no hurry

And he’d be happy with any amount!