when gifts turn into clutter and managing the toy influx from your spouse

Are you needing help getting your husband to stop buying the kid’s toys? Maybe he starts off saying he needs to buy something but he ends up getting the kids whatever they want.

It can be difficult when the toys are taking over your home. In this post let’s talk about when gifts turn into clutter and managing the toy influx from your spouse.

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So you probably have said “If only my husband would stop buying the kid’s toys all the time,” my house wouldn’t look so trashed.

The frustration and anger that peeks through of having enough of it, It’s a common problem some people have.

I want to share a story to help with having compassion. But I also want to give you some solid advice on how to take back your home from toys.

Because let’s face it, we don’t need all those toys, and neither do the kids.

How do I deal with my partner with too much stuff?

If you feel that your husband’s buying of toys for your kids has become excessive and is causing problems for your family, here are some steps you can take:

Remember, that you CAN control your environment: Most moms/wives handle the home task or are the primary person. When we remember that we have control we are able to make a shift.

You may not be able to control your husband’s impulsive buying, but you can control your home environment.

Typically when toys are overloaded, kids get overwhelmed, and so does the home.

Try these strategies:

Make it a point to eliminate something the kids don’t play with anymore. And do it often.

Hide unopened toys for a later time
Swap old toys with the kids when the kids get a new toy (let them pick out the old toy they no longer want)

Read the book (A Bag for Santa) every year with your kids to help them understand the gift of giving back.

The author of this book is a personal friend of mine. She wrote this fabulous book to help kids take action and give toys back to Santa to fix up for other kids in need. It has bright illustrations and comes with a Santa bag.

It also makes a perfect gift.

Have a make-money basket: create a bin or basket and ask your kids to find toys they want to sell to make money. Have fun creating a garage sale and the kids will learn skills on talking to others and counting money. Then save half the money and let them spend the rest. Repeat this every time things get too much.

So with the same concept, you can’t stop your husband from compulsive buying. You can redirect his toy-buying efforts by considering these ideas

Joining a toy rental subscription: Sounds crazy, but you could rent toys and get new ones forever. As long as you have a subscription.

It’s a great way to cap the spending limit on toys too. But also so much fun for your kids to be able to play with just about any toy they want.

This can also help redirect kids from asking for everything on the store shelf. If you have the subscription, you could easily say let’s put it on the new order for you to play with. Some subscriptions have hundreds of toys.

It’s a win-win. Your husband can virtually shop for toys too.

Check out a few of the toy rental companies here:

Invest in an at-home toy printer a toy printer is a machine that creates toys on demand. From small toys to entire cities.

Kids can look at preloaded designs, create their own designs and download new designs. The machine will print anything you tell it.

And the toys actually work

Below are a few of the top toy makers.

Toybox 3D

FLASHFORGE 3D Printer Finder 3 Glass

Voxelab Aquila 3D Printer

Check out the USA toy library association

This is something my kids and I love to do. Our local library is a part of this program and we typically grab new stem toys every time we go. But our library has American girl dolls, musical instruments, games and all kinds of toys.

They are nationwide and have so many different options.

Set a Christmas toy limit my husband and I have a limit to how many toys our kids get each year. But more specifically how many in total. You can read the whole post here. And why we do it.

Use the reverse psychology method: This may sound crazy to some. But I raised an out-of-sight out of mind child. If a toy was stuffed in the bin well, we never thought of it.

Create a toy display shelf for some toys and see if the sight of seeing them will remind your spouse of how many you have.

For the kids, you could say only the best toys get to be displayed. All the other toys need to find a new home.

Sometimes when it’s all visually there it can work with limiting the urge to buy more.

Do a Marie Kondo tidy: I will caution you with this method. For some people, this works. But Marie Kondo says to dump all your belongings into a massive pile and sort through them.

You might just be inclined to dumb all the toys in the middle of the living room. It may be the turning point.

Seeing all the toys and realizing the mountain could change things.

Communicate your concerns: Have an open and honest conversation with your husband. Let him know that you appreciate his desire to provide for your children but that you feel his buying of toys has become excessive and is causing problems for your family.

Educate him: show him some of the studies that show that too many toys for children create an overwhelming environment for them.

Set boundaries: Once you have communicated your concerns, it is important to set clear boundaries with your husband. Let him know how much money you are comfortable spending on toys each month and stick to that budget.

Encourage alternative activities: Encourage your husband to find alternative activities to do with your children that don’t involve buying toys. This could be things like going to the park, playing sports, buying memberships, or doing crafts together.

Involve your children: Involve them in the conversation and let them know that while you appreciate their father’s desire to buy them toys, you would also like them to appreciate the value of money and not take things for granted.

Try Understanding why he buys all the toys

Personally, there was a toy I wanted so badly as a child. Silly enough, it was a power wheel. My oldest child never got one, but my younger two did. They were hand-me-downs, but my inner child was still so freaking happy.

Now power wheels are bulky and take up a lot of room. I store ours on our back patio with covers for the winter. I store them on the patio, and my husband doesn’t like the way they take up space on the patio. But this was one fight I wasn’t willing to let go.

Why am I telling you this story well because it is first trying to understand? Maybe his inner child was denied something, or he craves to give what he never had.

Now I am a person who craves minimalism in my life. But my inner child though won the battle when it came to power wheels. We all have our struggles.

Some people buy their kid’s toys because it’s their form of love from guilt. Maybe he works a lot and doesn’t see them often. Or wants the kids to know he is thinking of them even when he is away. This can happen with husbands traveling as mine does.

He always brings little things back for the kids.

Seek professional help: If the issue persists and you are unable to resolve it on your own, consider seeking the help of a professional family counselor or therapist to help you and your husband work through the issue.

Remember, communication and setting clear boundaries are the key to resolving this issue. By working together as a team, you can find a solution for your family.

And reaffirming your love for your children outside of materialist things always wins.