The Gift of Re-Gifting

I was recently on a website, which shall remain nameless, where there was a discussion about how class-less and disgusting re-gifting a gift was. I thought this was truly funny. If you received say, 15 bath gift sets for the holidays and really only needed 5-10 of them for the year, what happens to the remaining bath sets? According to the website I mentioned earlier, perhaps you should throw them away? I suppose it is up to you what happens to those gifts that either you have too many already, are not quite your style, or you just don’t like. Whatever the reason may be, please, if you think re-gifting is a travesty, at least donate to your local thrift store. Some thrifty shopper would love to snatch it up at a fraction of retail price.

However, if you are like me, you see nothing wrong with passing the gift along to someone who would like it and saving you a few bucks along the way. I do think there are certain guidelines one should follow when re-gifting so you’re not insulting the receiver or the original giver of the gift. For example, probably not a good idea to re-gift a perishable item that is way past it’s bedtime. No one deserves a moldy fruitcake in April. It’s probably also not very polite to re-gift something that’s been obviously used in the order of bath sets, perfume and the like.

I recommend if you have extra gifts that you do not want, keep them in their wrapping and save in a storage bin for last minute gift ideas. If you shop at the dollar stores, you already have extra gift bags and a card. So when a co-worker calls you Monday morning to see what you got Sally for her birthday, you are all set. There is also the ultra-respectful rule of never re-gift an item to the same person who gave it or to a person who will see the gift that they got you now being passed on right in front of their eyes. I know it’s good to be honest and upfront but I have never agreed with someone blatantly telling someone they hate the gift they gave them. That is rather class-less. Unless it simply doesn’t fit, you should probably keep these comments to yourself because you may get a moldy fruitcake next time.

Also, it’s nice to have extra gifts around if you’re strapped for cash at the time of someone’s birthday or special event. This way, at least you gave them something to acknowledge them and not an IOU for the future. As mentioned before, if you’re not comfortable with re-gifting please donate it to a thrift store. A lot of people shop the thrift stores for gifts. I know that I found a lot of great gift sets, books and collectibles for my family and friends during the holidays while still being able to pay my bills. If it’s done right, re-gifting can be as rewarding as going out and getting it yourself and you can feel good about not wasting something you will never use.