To Regift This Christmas: Do or Don’t?

Regifting is a very hot topic. Do you regift? Maybe you have never heard the term before. To “regift” is to give a gift that was once given to you. So if your sister gives you a sweater that you don’t like (or doesn’t fit or already have) then you would give it to somebody else like a friend.

In today’s shaky economy, more people are considering regifting than ever before. But with regifting comes a certain etiquette and prethought about sending the gift along. For one thing, you certainly don’t want your friend to be wearing that very distinctive sweater and run into your sister – to have either of them realize what you’ve done. You also don’t want to get a reputation as someone who is very picky or so frugal that you regift all the time.

The most important rule of regifting is that it needs to be done thoughtfully. You need to only regift when an item is something that is brand new, in the box, with tags and is something that the person you are giving it to would actually want. Never regift a gift that has been sitting around for more than six months, getting dusty because it will look old and just like it has been sitting around in your closet – because it has!

When regifting you may also want to consider using a “degrees of separation” clause. So only regift when the person you are regifting to will not run into the person that originally gave you the gift. Thus sparing you and them some possible embarrassment. This is easily avoided when the item is very generic and popular – as most will assume you bought another one. But when an item is very distinctive – like a sweater with three snowmen on it wearing little hats and red mittens – your sister is going to notice when someone else wears it!

Many who regift admit that they have been caught regifting. You need to consider that this may happen. How would you or the gift recipient feel if it did? If you are giving something to your snooty sister-in-law, perhaps you might not regift. It could be hard to live down. Save regifting for relationships you are comfortable with. Simply remember rule #1: to regift thoughtfully.

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