Hi Sarah, that is a tricky issue isn’t it! We’ve tried to share our approach with family, that we prefer less, that we appreciate natural materials and open ended toys. There are a few different ways you could approach gifts with family and friends that don’t share the same approach – encourage no gifts, specific gifts (wish list type approach or we’d love craft materials for example), group buying for a bigger wished for item (we did that with a cubby house) or encourage an experience/time gift instead (tickets to the zoo or an outing with the family member). At the end of the day though, I’ve found we still are given things we would rather not have in our home. Some of these the children play with for a little and then lose interest very quickly. Some I put in the bath so they can see some play before they get yucky and go to the bin, some we regift or take to a donation bin. We’d still like to appreciate the gift and the effort the giver put into choosing it, so it is a balance. One other option I’ve found can work is to suggest that toy can live at the givers house for when we visit. I’ve found as family see our home more and see how the children play they often start to get it more, but this continues to be a challenge.