Every child loves toys, and for good reason! As well as being fun, or cute, cuddly, even educational, they’re important as your child’s key to a little bit of freedom. So what if daddy says it’s time to stop talking to friends on the phone? There’s no curfew on talking to Mr Teddy under the covers! And maybe they have to share the TV remote with their older brothers and sisters, but their dollies are theirs and theirs alone. Unfortunately, while toys have limitless ways to help your child develop all sorts of key life skills, money isn’t quite so unlimited.
But what if there was a way to balance the fun with finances? What if we told you your little one could play with £200 worth of toys for just £50? Read on…
1. Go old school
It goes without saying that the true value of toys is never in their price tag. Remember back to when you were little, or even when your own parents were little and take a leaf out of the history book! Why buy an expensive art kit when you can do a bit of finger painting or a potato print? Why splash out on costumes when you can have fun creating one together from clothes destined for the bin? So, don’t always assume buying the latest and greatest toys is the only answer — there are endless ways to have great fun and make great memories without the price tag.
2. Find opportunities in the community
Most of us had hand-me-downs as a kid, getting to enjoy toys that still had a lot of life in them even if their former owners were too old, and why should that change for your little ones? Swapping and exchanging toys is a great way to greener-minded play. Talk to other parents, friends, and family members who might have toys from their own little ones that they would love to give a new home to. Check out your local area to see if there are any bargains or freebies out there for you. Whether that’s hitting up charity shops, school fetes, or the local social media marketplace, you might be surprised to see how many affordable (even free!) playthings you can get your hands on. And of course, it goes without saying that for books, your local library will be happy to have you!
3. Make it a teachable moment
Of course, we all love getting something new that we really, really want — that’s something even adults can agree with. But, as all adults can also concur, that doesn’t mean we can always have them. Remember, no one can have everything they want, and if they did, all those things would probably start to seem a little less special. Take a moment to talk to your child and tell them precisely why you can’t always buy them all the toys they want, while also explaining that they shouldn’t always expect to get them, either. Life’s tricky moments are always great ways to teach invaluable life lessons.
4. Make it about their finances
If being able to afford a new toy is your top worry, a problem shared is also one halved. Do you give your child pocket money? Here’s an amazing opportunity to teach them money saving habits and to make saving up for that toy something you can do together! For more affordable toys, you can have them save up until they can buy it all by themselves. You can even make this fun by creating a count-down calendar for the wall and marking off each milestone with a stamp, sticker, or fingerprint (see? We told you finger painting is still fun!). And when the big day comes, make a special event of going to the shop to buy it, or being extra clever and ordering it online.
5. Try Whirli
Now, if you are already our customer, you know exactly how much you can save. Our average subscriber plays with £200 worth of toys for just £50 so you can ensure your child has big fun, even if you don’t have big funds.
Whirli is super easy to use:
- Pick a subscription plan — they’re billed monthly, half-yearly, or yearly. Your account will be credited with Whirli tokens which you can use to order toys. Our plans start from as low as £9.99 which gets you 80 Whirli tokens*.
- Pick your toys — settle in for a few hours of excited toy-picking with your little one, because we have over 1000 of them! Every Whirli token is worth £1 of a toy’s retail price, so a £20 toy will cost you 20 tokens. Our lowest-cost subscription gets you 80 tokens*, and just like that, you’re getting more for your money!
- Play time! — We’ll send your carefully chosen toys to you and your little one can play for as long as they want, there’s no return time! Any time they feel like something new, just send them back to us. We’ll credit your account with tokens and you can pick the next toy.
Our toy range covers just about everything your little one can want, accommodating new-borns to those who are around 8 years old. Discover books, scooters, cuddly toys, building toys, educational toys, musical instruments and much more!
We love helping little ones find toys they just don’t want to be parted with, so if they don’t want to return one, we’ll let you buy it from us for less than retail price. And, if your child keeps it for 8 months, they can keep it forever!
Like we said, our users get to watch their money go further thanks to Whirli. For every £50 spent with Whirli, your child can play with toys worth up to £200. It’s a great way to save toys from the scrapheap, and save on money, too.
So, ready to let little ones play in a big way? Get started today!
*80 token allowance is available once the introductory period is completed.