We all have been there. You receive a gift that you don’t like or have literally zero use for. It is such a waste, and such a disappointment especially if you were hoping for something better. Add this on top of being broke, it’s like a double gift if you know deep down you can reuse it for something else. This holiday season is already breaking the bank as it is. It has become more and more common to have to buy presents for literally anyone you’ve ever spoken to in the last month. You have to buy for family, friends, co-workers; and now even buying for your neighbors has become more and more common. The truth of the matter is that there has become no harm in re-gifting that gift you are never going to use. This is the case if – and only if – the act of re-gifting is done correctly. There is an art to re-gifting that needs to be mastered in order to not get caught in the act.
1. Be sure the person you are re-gifting to has at least three uses for the gift.
You know what it feels like to get a gift that absolutely sucks and one that you will never use. That is why you are reading this. So, don’t be that perfect that then gives a gift the person just won’t use either. If you can come up with at least three good reasons why the person you are re-gifting too can actually use the gift that you have no use for, then it is safe to pass along. If you can’t come up with at least three good reasons then don’t re-gift because you’ll be just as bad at gift giving as the person who gave you the gift in the first place. Don’t be that person.
2. Make sure the person who gave you the gift has no correlation or relationship with the person you are re-gifting too.
This is where the action gets tricky. You have to pull up the family or friend tree and see how far down the line the person who gave you the gift is the person who you are giving the gift too. It can get super awkward if the person who gave you the gift sees the person who you gave the gift to with the gift and says something like, “That sweater is so cute I gave (insert your name here) the same one.” Weird and uncomfortable. You do not want to be in that situation.
3. Have the decency to rewrap/gift bag the gift before re-gifting.
The presentation is a big factor in gift giving. You don’t want to make it seem like the gift has already been opened once and tampered with. It is so incredibly important to rewrap the gift, **with different wrapping paper** and make it seem like it has never been opened, touched or looked at by another recipient before. The least you could do is make the effort in gift presentation since you are re-gifting.
4. Double check to make sure your name is removed from all areas of the gift and price/gift tags are removed.
Another very awkward and uncomfortable situation. The person you give the gift to open it up and finds a To: (Insert Your Name Here) From: Grandma tag on the gift. It’s a total giveaway that you just re-gifted the ugly sweater your grandma gave you because you absolutely hate it and came to the realization that it is probably older than she is. Remove all gift tags before re-gifting. You have been warned.
5. Do not attempt to regift if you have tried the gift yourself to see if you would like it.
If you used half the bottle of hand lotion and then realized you didn’t like the way it smelled, don’t regift it. if you removed all the store tags off the sweater, wore it once, then realized you didn’t like it; don’t regift it. If you opened the Cheese & Wine Gift Set, drank the wine and now just have the cheese left; do not attempt to regift that stinky gift. Point of the story: if you have used it, you can’t re-gift it.