I’m sure you’ve heard the latest buzz.  If not, let me sum it up for you, paraphrased from many emails that I’ve recently received from concerned readers. (By the way, thank you SO much for emailing me - I had no idea the scope and the magnitude of this issue until I heard from so many of you!)

Unless something changes, as of February 10, it will essentially become illegal to resell children’s goods.

Yes.  You read that correctly.  ILLEGAL.  Why?  The new law, which is aimed at keeping lead filled merchandise away from children, will require that anyone who sells kids toys, clothing and books, etc certify that it has been tested for both lead and phthalates - a chemical used to make plastics more pliable.   Sounds like a good idea, right?  In theory yes, except that is an extremely expensive and very time consuming endeavor meaning most of the secondhand stores in this country will be unable to follow. A business can be fined or shut down completely if they fail to follow these mandates.

Here’s a link to a LA Times story if you want to read more.

So what can parents do now if the local consignment or second hand store shuts down?  Thanks for asking…

Fortunately, Zwaggle is unaffected by this decision.  Since no money changes hands when you trade on Zwaggle - you aren’t technically buying a product from another person.   We always loved the sharing concept and now we love it even more!  It’s a win-win situation for all involved!

So regardless of your views on this new legislation, Zwaggle will continue to be here to help families save money, conserve resources and provide for your family during these tough economic times.  Come one, come all.  And make sure to tell your friends.

Every year, someone in your family gets one of those gifts.  You know the ones I mean.  Maybe your sister in law just FORGOT that you are a vegetarian when she gave you steak in a box.  Maybe your mother in law didn’t MEAN you smelled bad when she gave you Jean Nate perfume for the fifth year in a row. (True story - for five long years, every single female in my husband’s family received that same gift from the new mother in law.)  Surely your boss forgot that you don’t own a dog when she regifted you with a bucket o’ bones.

For me, there was one gift that just went well beyond the grasp of any hope of propriety, any shred of decency or dignity.  It was the one gift that I was given as a teenager that I still remember, to this day. The one gift that embarrassed me, humiliated me and made me seriously question the motives of a family friend.  The divorced father who gave me, the oldest girl in my family, a roll of day of the week Jockey for her underpants.

I was 14.  Yeah, way to make someone very uncomfortable indeed.

How about the teeny tiny little present, wrapped in a box, tucked into another box, repeated until you have a box the size of your sofa?  Those kinds of gifts can be fun - but also, shall we say, a wee bit annoying?  The fun is gone after the first few rounds of wrapping.

Every year, your kids get a gift that you just.don’t.get.  A dragon that needs batteries to make fire breathing a reality, an Easy Bake oven that requires you purchase many, many miniature mixes - and baking by a light bulb is only fun if you are, say, five.  An Elmo that dances can be cute the first few times you hear the music - but when it begins to play in the middle of the night with no one nearby, you begin to rue the day that Great Aunt Hilda came your way bearing gifts.  Maybe you already have that copy of Tinkerbell or Wall-E, or you bought a new Leap Frog system and you need to find a new home for the older, still useful one.

Why not put those off the wall or unneeded items here on Zwaggle and use the points to get something that you REALLY like or need - maybe you could learn Italian with a CD set, just in time for your spring trip to Italy?  Or maybe you’ll find a new DVD to watch while you begin your new exercise habit - which we all know is the most popular New Year’s Resolution?

And then share your stories, here on this blog, about some of the funniest, most unbelievable or unforgettable gifts that you’ve received.  I know you have a couple good ones.