A wish list with pre-loved toys: let children dream freely

A good wish list with pre-loved toys lets children dream freely, and helps everyone give better presents. Mix new, pre-loved and home-made wishes, and add to it as you go. Share one list that is always up to date, instead of twenty messages in the family chat.

Camilla Næristorp

• Founder, Loopyty
• 4 min read
• 28 Oct 2026

With help from AI tools

The catalogue on the kitchen table

When I think of Advent as a child, I don't think of the presents first. I think of the toy catalogue. It arrived in the letterbox sometime in November. Then it lay on the kitchen table for weeks. I leafed through it, circled things, crossed them out and circled them again. Some pages became so worn they nearly fell out.

I never got everything I circled. That was never the point. The dreaming was the magic: working out what I really wished for, and looking forward to it.

We have talked with around 40 parents about toys and presents since we started working on Loopyty. Several of them had the same memory of the catalogue. And many feel the same dilemma today: they want their children to dream, but they don't want to fill the house with even more things.

Are wish lists just a recipe for more stuff?

No. Wishing for something is not the same as getting it. A wish list is a place where a child can sort out their thoughts. And where the grown-ups can see what actually matters.

The dreams are not the problem. The problem is when everything has to be bought new. And when five relatives buy the same thing, because nobody knew what the others had in mind.

Why let children make the list themselves?

Because children become more thoughtful when they have to choose. When a child gets to circle, cross out and prioritise, they practise working out what they really want. It is a skill that lasts longer than most toys.

Let the list grow slowly through the autumn. Whatever is still on it after three weeks is often what really matters.

Is it all right to wish for pre-loved toys?

Yes. Children rarely care whether a toy has had an owner before. It is more often the grown-ups who hesitate, as we wrote in "Pre-loved gifts: it's not the children who mind".

Several parents would happily give pre-loved presents. But it felt awkward without being asked. When a pre-loved toy is on the wish list, that feeling goes away. Then it is not a make-do, but exactly what the child wished for.

How do you make a wish list with pre-loved toys?

You can do it on paper, in an app or on Loopyty. The steps are the same.

1. Start with one evening now. Make the first wishes together with the child, ideally with cocoa and plenty of time. That is the catalogue moment. After that, add wishes as they come up.
2. Look everywhere, not just in the shops. Perhaps you saw a toy at the library or at a friend's house. Take a photo of it, and put it on the list. On Loopyty, the photo can go straight onto the wish list.
3. Mix new, pre-loved and home-made. A wish can be a toy, a book or something you want to do together. On Loopyty you can also add pre-loved toys you find there.
4. Write it in your own words. A wish can be just text, such as "bike, 20 inch, blue". A photo can have a short note about why this particular toy. It helps the giver.
5. Share the list with family and friends. Each child has their own list. If you share it on Loopyty, everyone sees the same list, including when you add new wishes.

Next step

Set aside an evening this week, and make the wish list together with the child. See how the wish list works on Loopyty.

Sources

• Loopyty: conversations with around 40 parents about toys and presents, since we started working on Loopyty.
• The Loopyty blog: "Pre-loved gifts: it's not the children who mind" (2026).