Shop thrift stores? You'll be surprised at the treasures

Your wallet may not be filled with the holiday spirit this season - or with much of anything for that matter.

More than most years, we'll be looking for ways to spend less while giving our home that festive sparkle and our loved ones warm gifts they'll treasure.

How about checking out your neighborhood thrift shop, at least before you hit the malls? Now wait a minute. Listen to the arguments before you say your mother-in-law would never put up with this.

First of all, says Tillie Thorpe, manager of the Treasure House Resale and Consignment Shop in Glen Ellyn, it's green and environmentally friendly to reuse someone else's treasure.

And why does anyone have to know that the beautiful china on your holiday table came from a thrift store and not from your great grandmother?

Today's style of mixing rather than matching helps, too. The store that benefits Metropolitan Family Services DuPage shows four stunning red Lenox flutes for $55, and if you need more glasses you could buy the green ones, too.

There really isn't any question that it's a good idea to visit thrift shops when you're searching for your own Christmas decorations.

Unless you want to brag, don't mention that the nutcracker ornament on your tree was $1 at the Wings Resale Store in Schaumburg, where money goes to programs preventing homelessness and domestic violence.

But what about buying gifts at thrift stores?

Now we're getting into gray territory.

The experts we consulted says it depends.

Even though thrift shops offer some new, still-in-the-box items, remember, returns are probably not allowed.

You must know your recipient, of course. In fact, when you're shopping at luxury stores you still have to know what he or she would like. If her decor is mid-century, she will probably love the $12.50 art glass bowl at the Wings shop.

But Patricia A. O'Brien of Manners, Please, was a little shocked at the question.

"It's the first I've even heard of anybody considering doing something like this," she said.

The presentation is very important, said O'Brien, who is based in Skokie.

Either the box must look perfect so the youngster thinks he is getting a brand new toy or you can spend some time beautifully wrapping the like-new tablecloth.

"The important thing is to make the recipient feel important - you want to go that extra mile," said O'Brien.

The manners maven sees nothing wrong with regifting - giving something you received as a gift and never used. Don't forget: Disaster can strike if you give it in the same circle of friends where the original purchaser might see it in the new owner's home or if you forget to take off tags or notes addressed to you.

And Jane Davidsen, a Wheaton interior designer whose firm is Details in Design, agrees the wrapping must always be special.

"Make it different, make it unique. Make it your own. Make it personal for that person," said Davidsen.

She would put her hostess' favorite candy in the art glass dish before finishing it off with great wrapping paper, for example.

While Carly Holz, manager of the Schaumburg store, thinks older, used stuff brings more character and the mystery of a back story, not to mention a model or style you can't find in the department stores today, Davidsen draws a line here.

If the item you find is obviously old and used, it must be very interesting. Davidsen thinks vintage or antique would work.

"Everyone wants something new and shiny for Christmas," she said.