The walmart here "tags" gifts from the wish tree with UV anti-theft markers and write the child's name/engrave it so it's labeled. It won't stop off-market sales (kijiji, ebay etc) but it makes it more difficult for the item to be returned for cash. It sounds terrible, but it's far from unheard of. I buy for the gift tree every year, though ours only lists ages, and I make sure that the gifts I pick meet a couple of criteria : no expensive, difficult to find batteries or other replacement parts, little to no resale value, the ability for solo play, and relative durability and portability. Many children who recieve these gifts are in and out of foster care, so large unwieldy items, or things that rely on others to play with or help them with might be fairly useless. For the younger kids I often get playdough sets with a good volume of replacement playdough, and a small zip up bag to keep the lot in.
