How to Share Your Collectibles by Giving Them Away!

Around any holiday, I always think of family; especially my grandchildren. Living a long distance away from all of them, I think about what I would be doing if we could share the holiday together. This Easter I found a set of candy holders that I had made in a ceramics class many, many years ago. I never use them, but have moved them with me every move. I decided that it made sense to give them to a family member who would appreciate my making and saving them. I decided that that is how I will celebrate holidays in the future; start "gifting" any of my pieces of collections that I want to pass on to family and friends.

After finding those holiday candy holders and making the decision to give them away, I found the following article which is about doing the same thing for Christmas. I realize that Christmas is a long way away; but perhaps looking at your collections of collectibles early on will start this process of sharing.

I would love to hear from some of you about what you think of this very clever idea. Please leave a comment.

Sharing Your Love of Collecting by Giving Collectibles Away

From Barbara Crews,Your Guide to Collectibles.FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

I love to share my collections. Both online and by having people over to see it. But one way I decided to share it a few years ago is by giving things away.
Like many collectors, when I first started, and was most passionate, I collected everything. It didn't take long for my collections to take over our house and life, so I started packing parts of it away. For years I've also rotated the seasonal items and although that helped, I still had lots of pieces that never saw the light of day. Cookie jars tucked into boxes, glass ornaments that only sparkled in the dark recesses of a closet and snowdomes that were never shaken.
That's why at Christmas time I share my jars and ornaments with others by giving them away. It was probably three or four years ago that I first gave away over two dozen cookie jars at our annual open house and when I still hear from non-collectors how much they still love and use their jars, I realized I made the right decision.
So over the years I will usually have a tree of ornaments to pick from and sometimes, like I did again this year, give away quite a few cookie jars.
The items I give away are usually extras or ones that I just don't display for one reason or another. Like any gift you might give, I would never give away anything damaged in any way. The rules are simple. It must be something that I once loved, but no longer cherish. And it must be in excellent condition. For the recipients -- once they open their wrapped jar, they have to take it! Yes they can trade or give it away later on, but if they don't like it, they still have to take it away.
This year several dozen cookie jars were adopted. All the jars were wrapped in gift sacks, with tissue paper hiding the actual contents. Each party-goer family or couple were invited to pick a sack to take with them. Of course they had the option to not participate, but no one turned down the chance to take a prize home. I'm not sure how many might have been disappointed in what they actually got, but I know quite a few folks were really delighted with their new Christmas jars.
Perhaps this is something you can adapt for holiday get-togethers, make it game by drawing numbers, or disguising the contents of a package. You'll be sharing your love of collecting and maybe even get someone started on the adventure of collecting.

Stay collected and connected.

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