According to ThredUp’s 2026 Holiday Resale Report, 62% of Americans plan to buy secondhand gifts this season. The survey behind it, run by GlobalData in September, covered 2,123 U.S. adults, and 84% of them said they’d like a gift they already loved the same or more after learning it was secondhand. Thirty percent of respondents expect secondhand to help them buy gifts for more people, up from 23% last season.
Holiday thrifting rewards repeat trips. Value World puts more than 3,000 new items out daily, so the things you can thrift for the holidays keep changing between mid-November and the week before Christmas.
1. Ornaments and Wreaths
Value World stocks seasonal decor through the holidays, from ornaments to wreaths and tabletop pieces. Each store’s selection is different. Visiting more than one Value World in your area gives you more to choose from and a better shot at decor that suits your home.
Thrifted ornaments come from different years and different makers, so a tree trimmed over a few trips looks collected instead of bought as a boxed set.
2. Set the Table for Less
Platters, serving bowls, and glassware turn up in the housewares aisles, where an associate prices each item individually based on its condition, brand, and market value. Each has its own tag. You can buy only the pieces one big dinner needs, and mismatched glasses look deliberate once there are enough of them on the table.
3. Small Appliances for Hosting Season
Slow cookers, coffee makers, and mixers turn up in the small-appliance section, and they’re the hosting gear that’s hardest to justify buying new for a few weeks of heavy use. Secondhand fits that schedule.
4. Velvet, Sequins, and the Ugly Sweater
Respondents to ThredUp’s 2026 Holiday Resale Report expect more than twice as many social occasions in November and December as in a typical two-month stretch. That’s a lot of outfits.
Velvet blazers, sequined tops, and party dresses turn up across the clothing racks. For an ugly sweater party, the thrift rack is the only sensible place to shop, since nobody should pay retail for a sweater worn to one party.
Mirrors are spread throughout every Value World store for a quick fit check. Bring a tape measure and the measurements of something that already fits, then compare them against the garment instead of the size on the label.
5. A Suit for a Growing Teenager
A growing teenager needs a suit or sport jacket for the holidays, and he’ll need the next size up before long. Full price for something he’ll outgrow is a tough sell. Suits and sport jackets turn up in men’s clothing alongside dress shirts and ties.
Check the shoulders first. A jacket that fits across the shoulders is the one to buy, because a tailor can take up the sleeves and hems at a reasonable cost.
6. Winter Coats
In ThredUp’s 2025 Holiday Report, based on a GlobalData survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers, women’s apparel such as coats, knits, and denim ranked second among the secondhand categories shoppers were considering as gifts, at 36%. In Cleveland and Detroit, a coat is a gift that gets worn from the first freeze into spring.
Start with the fabric label, which tells you whether a coat is wool, down, or a blend before it comes off the hanger. Then try it on over a sweater. A coat that fits over the layers you wear in January is the one to buy.
Buying a coat for someone else? Bring their measurements. Shoulder width and sleeve length taken from a coat that already fits them tell you more than the size printed inside, so the coat you bring home is ready to wrap.
7. Accessories Lead the Gift List
Accessories topped the categories in ThredUp’s 2025 Holiday Report, with 40% of respondents considering them as secondhand gifts. Vintage apparel, accessories, and home goods came in third at 31%. A scarf skips the sizing problem entirely, and a handbag needs no tape measure.
Brand is part of how an associate prices a handbag, so the tag on a name-brand bag reflects the label, and an unbranded leather bag in the recipient’s favorite color can be the better gift. Jewelry fits in a stocking. Earrings, brooches, and pendants all make stocking stuffers that look like more than they cost.
8. Books
Books are the easiest thrifted gift to wrap. Build a stack around one interest, such as cooking, history, or a single author, and tie it with ribbon so the gift looks put together. Old inscriptions are a bonus.
9. What About Picture Frames?
Frames make the most personal gift on this list. They turn up in the housewares section in a mix of sizes and finishes, and a family photo printed to fit turns one into a gift built around the person opening it.
Any frame takes paint. Pick one for its size and shape, then paint it in a color that suits the recipient’s room. Finished flips get shared on Instagram under #ValueWorldFlip.
10. Something to Put It In
Homemade cookies need a tin, and a gift basket needs a basket. Both turn up in housewares alongside glass jars and decorative boxes. A thrifted container becomes part of the gift instead of wrapping that gets torn off and thrown away.
Run tins and jars through hot, soapy water before anything edible goes in. Glass is easiest.
Stretch the Holiday Budget
Each store posts its own Color of the Day, and items tagged in that color are 50% off. Two stores in one afternoon means two different colors at 50% off. White Tag Sunday works on a weekly cycle: a selection of white-tagged items drops to 50% off on Sunday and stays there through the following Saturday. Select stores also keep a 99¢ rack, and the Thrift Store Shopping for Beginners guide walks through the full tag system.
Purple tags work differently. They mark new merchandise Value World buys from name-brand retailers, priced at a fraction of original retail. They’re the pick for anyone on your list who’d rather unwrap something new.
At Value World, we’re running two great deals this holiday season:
- Black Friday Weekend Sale
- 50% OFF Storewide: November 27–29, 2026 (open to the public, don’t have to be VIP member) 50% off everything! One of the biggest sales of the year!
- Two Ways to Earn a 50% OFF Coupon
- Spend $50 or more on merchandise: Receive a 50% OFF coupon redeemable December 26, 2026–January 1, 2027.
- Purchase $50 or more in gift cards: Receive a 50% OFF coupon redeemable January 4–31, 2027.
- Coupon-earning promotion runs November 2–December 24, 2026.
The VIP Club is free. Every dollar you spend earns a point, 100 points take $5 off a later purchase, and 150 points take $10 off. Points last 24 months, so holiday spending still counts next fall. New members who opt into texts get a $5 coupon, and VIPs hear first about sale locations, exclusive sales, and member-only events. Members also get a 25% off birthday coupon, a bonus for anyone with a December birthday.
Sign up now, and every holiday purchase after that earns points toward the next trip.
Find a store
Value World has thrift superstores in the Cleveland, Detroit, and Houston areas. Hours and addresses for each location are on the Ohio, Michigan, and Texas location pages. Stores are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., with different hours on some holidays.
FAQs
Is it OK to give a thrifted gift?
For most people, yes. In ThredUp’s 2026 Holiday Resale Report, 55% of respondents said they’d rather receive a one-of-a-kind, vintage, or hard-to-find secondhand gift in excellent condition than a brand-new, mass-produced version.
Should you tell someone their gift was thrifted?
Go ahead. In the same ThredUp report, 84% of respondents said they’d like a gift they already loved the same or more after learning it was secondhand.
What makes a thrifted Christmas gift feel special?
Finding one of a kind. ThredUp’s 2026 Holiday Resale Report found that people receiving a secondhand gift value uniqueness nearly as much as savings, and millennials rank uniqueness first. A vintage scarf, a stack of books on one subject, or a painted frame holding a family photo fits that brief.
When should you start thrifting for the holidays?
Early. In ThredUp’s 2025 Holiday Report, 51% of shoppers planned to spend strategically by starting their holiday shopping earlier. With more than 3,000 new items going out at Value World every day, an early start means more trips and more to choose from before the holidays.
