Hi, my name is Mamatulip, and I’m a re-gifter.
That’s right, I said it: sometimes I pass things on that have been previously given to me/us, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. I mean, why would I hang on to that hand-crafted parcheesi board from The Joneses, that will no doubt wind up propping open the bathroom window, when I know cousin Earl would not only use it, but enjoy it, too?
I have standards, though, when it comes to re-gifting (as opposed to, you know, having standards in general). First thing first: if I’m going to re-gift it, I make note of who it was from. I’ll stick a post-it note on the 5,000 piece Country Geese at Christmastime puzzle with dear old Aunt Mabel’s name on it, so I know not to give it back to her if when her birthday rolls around next year.
In between receiving a gift and deciding to pass it on, if said gift gets damaged, I won’t use it. Same if the box and/or packaging gets bashed up or wrecked – I’ll either donate it or pass it on to a friend if I can’t make it look passable (and by passable, I mean not something that I’m re-gifting).
If it’s a straight-up tacky gift, I usually wind up wrapping it up for my mother-in-law donating it instead. And really, I haven’t been given too many tacky gifts in my lifetime. I hail from a fairly small family, and those who buy for me usually get me pretty good stuff (except for the year that I asked for the New Kids on the Block album and got a hunter green Northern Reflections sweatshirt with a collar and a hand-painted image of a flock of loons flying across the front). In all honesty, it’s my husband who’s got the worst track record; the man does not give good gifts (he’s getting better, though – last year I didn’t get any Liquidation World body wash from him – which is a start, though I do think the angry rash I got from the last batch he gave me scared him away from buying me discounted bath products).
I try to be careful when I re-gift, so that a) I don’t come off looking like a total cheapskate (looking like a moderate cheapskate, however, is perfectly acceptable) and b) I don’t make an ass out of myself by giving someone they very gift they gave me last Christmas. There’s not a Christmas that goes by where I don’t wrap up a gift for someone that’s been recycled in some way, shape or form. At this point, it’s like tradition, you know?
What about you? Do you or don’t you re-gift? Do you have a re-gifting horror story to share with the class? Fess up.
28 Comments, Comment or Ping
Total re-gifter right here. Will be doing it a couple of times this coming week!
I kind of enjoy the game – ooh this doesn’t work for me but who can I save it for, for what occasion?! I have also fessed up to the re-gifting in certain circumstances, to the new recipient.
And luckily I haven’t been totally caught out yet by the person who originally gave me/us the gift. No hurt feelings that I know of.
December 17th, 2009
Oh god . LOL @ liquidation world body washes.
I don’t regift although I should because I end up holding on to stuff I don’t even like or need. Like the three cheeseboards of various sizes with grapes and wine all over them . Or the wooden , lean to style calender , that you have to manually flip the chunk of wood over each day to change the date ( um i am too lazy for that ) or a powder blue, sparkly yet incredibly soft cowl neck sweater that I can honestly say came from Cotton Ginny ( thank god they closed ).
December 17th, 2009
While I would not call it an annual tradition, we have regifted items on occasion.
It used to be a lot more frequent when my wife was still teaching, as her students often gave us things we either had no need for, or did not want to keep.
December 17th, 2009
My re-gifting has tended to be of the white elephant variety. :)
December 17th, 2009
We re-gifted a sleighload of wedding presents way back when, but not much since except the annual fruitcake that an elderly neighbor gives us every year. God love her, but I hate it and another neighbor loves it, so there you go.
December 17th, 2009
I would regift, but our family is very small. It’s always just my parents, brother and his kid, and us for Christmas. If I regifted, the original giver would know and that’s just awkward.
December 17th, 2009
I’m afraid to regift lest the original gifter show up on my doorstep and demand to see the hideously ugly thing they gave us three years ago.,
December 17th, 2009
If I had things to re-gift, I totally would. I don’t see anything wrong with it, especially when someone else would like or appreciate something more! I don’t usually end up with that situation, though.
December 17th, 2009
Regifting is fine… you’re saving the planet by avoiding putting things in land fill. (How’s That for a rationalisation?)
December 17th, 2009
I had a regifting party last January because I got some truly awful gifts.
December 17th, 2009
LOL You kill me. “if” her birthday rolls around… ha!
I have done this, but, like MANY THINGS, it gives me anxiety. Don’t ask me why. Just the way I tick.
I DO like to re-use gift bags, though. That makes me happy.
:)
December 17th, 2009
Totally giggling at the Liquidation World body wash. I have regifted, but not often enough to keep track (which, duh! shoulda thought of that!), mostly because I don’t get a lot of atrocious/unusable/unreturnable (oh yeah: I went there) gifts.
December 17th, 2009
Sometimes I want to re-gift, but I never can gather the courage.
December 17th, 2009
I have been known to re-gift. I don’t think I am re-gifting anything this year.
December 17th, 2009
I had something funny happen a few years back. Well, the end was funny.
My 4-month old daughter had a seizure in the early morning hours, and I needed someone (I was new to the neighborhood) to watch my OTHER 2 4-month olds while we went in the ambulance.
In comes neighbor #1.
To thank them, I gave them a huge jug of my grandparents’ awesome maple syrup.
About a month later, I was having lunch with neighbor #2, and we talked a little about cooking. It came out that she loved maple syrup (weird conversation). I offered to give her a jug but, alas, neighbor #1 had just given her some.
Hehehe… I made a note NOT to gift maple syrup to them again!
December 18th, 2009
I am all about re-gifting. I think it’s great and I don’t think I’ve screwed up & gotten caught, *yet*.
December 18th, 2009
Generally speaking, I don’t regift, but I’ve done it before. Hmmm. Sounds like an idea, though.
December 18th, 2009
At my place of work, for fun we do a Secret Santa and we re-gift tacky presents. It’s fun seeing people’s faces and reactions to some of the gifts.
December 18th, 2009
I haven’t regifted, but I have donated on occasion. I don’t see anything wrong with regifting; it’s environmentally responsible and if it’s something someone will use / enjoy, then why not? You’re helping that item realize its Christmas destiny. :)
December 18th, 2009
i do regift, when i think the person will really like it!
December 18th, 2009
Regifting is totally acceptable. Especially if it is a kitten calendar. A KITTEN CALENDAR. I usually look around my house for something when I have a birthday party to go to that is short notice.
December 19th, 2009
I had a yard sale after the Former Mr and I got married. We made $300 from unwanted wedding gifts.
Re-gift? Sure. Tho I’m more likely to gift something I found at a thrift store because that’s how my family rolls. This year I’m gifting homemade items and things bought at Goodwill.
December 19th, 2009
I regift, but too often, the gifts I get that I don’t want are too horrifying to regift. Like the two foot long weiner dog candle holder. I mean, WTF? Sssshhhh. My mom reads blogs now. Shi’!
xo
erin
December 19th, 2009
I think regifting is perfectly acceptable, I have done it quite a few times BUT BUT BUT I do not think it is acceptable for a grandparent (my MIL) to regift a DIL (ME) a gift the grandchildren got her the year before…oh no no no, that is tacky. If she was planning on regifting it fine…but as you said mark on it who it came from.
Let’s see what she give us this year…
December 19th, 2009
I regifted this year, but in the best possible way. I wrote about it here, if you’re interested. I still think I’m a genius.
http://rhapsodyinbeige.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/tis-the-season-for-regifting-2009-style/
As for ‘regular’ regifting; I have basically the same rules as you do. I have to be really confident that the person getting the gift could reasonably think that I went out and shopped especially for him/her. I try to stay away from ‘best fit’ type giving.
December 21st, 2009
Regifting is a great idea and i do it all the time. I have always been sucessful apart from one occaision when I was away from home for a week over my sister-in -laws birthday and left my husband the job of wrapping and delivering her (his own sister) present. I even left out the intended lovely Sanctuary Spa gift set that I had actually purchased in the January sale with, a birthday card, out for him. However, on returning home I found the intended present where I had left it and the Sanctury Spa gift set that sister in law had bought me for Christmas (this occurred at the beginning of feb) missing from my dressing table. Moral of the story being if you are going to regift, see the whole process through from beginning to end yourself. V embarrassing when it goes wrong, although you would have to be a total idiot, like my husband, to mess it up like that!!!!!
December 22nd, 2009
not a re-gifter. I don’t think I have it in me. BUT, we did get three of the same platter as wedding gifts (must have been the sale item that week!) and I kept one and gave two as gifts. But, I REALLY liked it and I use mine all the time, so I didn’t really feel bad giving it as a gift.
December 22nd, 2009
Re-gifter. totally.
December 23rd, 2009
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