Thrift 'em!

I am sure most parents are all too familiar with the bored-with-all-my-toys phenomenon. As the name aptly suggests, this phenomenon is observed when a baby or child becomes bored with the toys they see and play with day in and day out. Of course, this same thing can happen with books!

I've purchased a fair number of board books over the past few months. It's nice having a selection to choose from to keep Charlotte interested. Some books will get hidden away for a week or so and then reproduced to baby's delight. "Hey, that one!" I imagine her thinking. She has yet to forget a book altogether, no matter how long it stays out of sight.

If you take a look at the back of any board book you will notice that building a board book library could easily become quite costly -- especially since this particular type of book will only be of interest to baby for a few short years. Most are around 8 or 10 dollars. No problem, I say! My solution is simple: thrift 'em!

Frenchy's and Salvation Army are gold mines. I have found many books in near-new condition for 25 or 50 cents. The beauty of board books is that if you're worried about the cleanliness of second hand items for baby, they are easily wiped down.

Thrift shops are great for out-of-print gems, forgotten childhood treasures, and new (old) surprises. I love a good vintage find, and have in fact been picking up books for when Charlotte is older as well. Here is a sampling of the fruits of our latest thrift store adventure:

Thanks to our thrifty ways, Charlotte has managed to amass a great board book collection, as well as a cool little vintage library to enjoy as she grows. Pretty impressive for a 10 month old, wouldn't you say?