Backstory
At one of our girls’ lunches, someone sheepishly admitted to regifting. That opened an avalanche of confessions from those who did indeed pass along to others something that had been gifted to them. Some justified their transgressions. A few told stories of getting caught in the act.
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Regifting – #122
Have you ever dabbled in regifting? You know – passing along a gift that someone has given to you. Oh, admit it. You receive a gift that’s just not something you would use or enjoy. Or that color just does not do you justice. But you know, for sure, that someone else would just love it. So you pass it along.
Now the trick is to regift with panache. There are some rules to follow, if you want to be a real success at regifting. These were passed along to me by some of the world’s greatest regifters. So here are the key tips to Christmas regifting:
- Make sure the gift card TO YOU has been removed before you wrap the regift. It’s not a good idea to leave that in there.
- Make sure the gift has not rusted while it sat there in the garage, particularly if it has been there for five years or more. That’s definitely not cool.
- Make sure you are not passing the gift along to the person who gave it to you in the first place. Keep a list.
- Okay, so regifting can be tricky. But when you’re planning to give fruitcake, know that the recipient will always think it us a regift.
So take heed and be sure to have fun this Christmas. We sure are.
P.S.
Is regifting tacky? Etiquette experts suggest that it is acceptable, as long as the item is nice, is in new, unused condition and is something you would have bought for the person if you were paying for it.
Our family plays a game on Christmas for which every prize is a flagrantly admitted white elephant or regift. It’s brought lots of laughter to our holiday and some pretty neat stuff.
[Show #122]
A different spin on re-gifting: Pass along a gift that you cherish, and include a note as to why you valued it.
I inherited a carved wooden perfume vial holder my dad bought for my mother in 1941 in Hawaii. It was a gift of sorts and a reminder of my mother for many years. I have passed it along to a treasured friend in Hawaii along with its provenance. She loves it. Now she can pass it along to whomever will value it. No need for apologies.
I have started to do that too, George. Wonderful gesture.
I don’t think it’s tacky at all — definitely a responsible thing to do instead of being wasteful. I love the tips! Merry Christmas, everyone.
We received a fruitcake this year that should be passed along. Wrestling with it!
This is a common practice in the Middle East, except it applies to cheap gifts. Let’s say you have a son that graduated from college, and you threw a graduation party for family and friends. The guests that bring in cheap gifts, those gifts are kept in the addict until those families have a graduation or some kind of celebration in their family, then the same gift is taken back to them, even sometimes in the same bag or wrapping 😀
I like that idea, Abder.
We will miss that kind of interaction this year.
Fun! We did that with our Sunday school class at a lunch at Denny’s last year. It was fun to pass along as white elephant gifts! Merry Christmas!