Re-gifting is one of those activities that people often question. After all, someone gave you something, how can you just give it away? I’ll leave the psychological aspects of that to another day, and for now offer these insights.
If you’ve ever asked, “Is re-gifting OK,” think about these questions:
- Is recycling OK?
- Is living without clutter OK?
- Is blessing someone else with a useful item OK?
So the recipient of a nice but not necessarily perfect-for-her gift can and should engage in re-gifting guilt-free. As the original giver of the re-gifted gift, if you should find out about a it, you may find your feelings a bit hurt. But look at it this way: as much as you strive to select the perfect gift, sometimes your recipient just won’t like it. Her tastes may have changed, she may not have room to store it, or it may be a duplicate.
Whatever the reason, sometimes your recipient will pass your gift on to someone else. Is it OK? If the gift is perfect for someone else, then absolutely it’s OK. Your recipient appreciated your efforts and your remembrance of her occasion. Your gift will find the perfect home; just maybe not with the exact recipient you intended.
But there are some rules for successful re-gifting, as couple of funny experiences show. Once I was visiting a friend in Chicago for her birthday. After dinner we went back to her house where she opened her gifts. As she was removing the tissue paper from one box, a gift card fell out. It was a note to the couple who had given my friend the gift, from the original giver!
A couple of years ago I was interviewed on a Florida radio station. Later that day I received an email from a listener with his own re-gifting story. It seems he and his wife had wine bottle labels made that said “Merry Christmas, Love Patti & Sam.” They handed out the wine at a few holiday parties. The following summer someone went to a dinner party at their home, and lo and behold gave them one of their bottles of wine! Interestingly, it was not a person who had originally received it! So obviously, someone else had re-gifted it too!
To avoid experiences like these, here are a few things to keep in mind if you engage in re-gifting.
- Avoid re-gifting personalized items.
- Be sure that all previous notes, gift tags, or cards are removed from the item and the box.
- When you receive an item that you know will be re-gifting, put a sticky note with the giver’s name on it before storing it away, so you don’t give it back to the giver – or someone in the giver’s family or close circle.
- Unless it’s a pair of family heirloom earrings, all re-gifts should be in new condition, in the original factory box where applicable.
Re-gifting, done right, is both budget-friendly and effective, so have fun with it! Just remember, every gift is the perfect gift for someone.
