Sometimes, you just get a gift that is not really for you. Instead of putting any unwanted gifts into some black hole in the back of your closet, why not give it to someone who can truly appreciate it? I know the talk of re-gifting presents is taboo and some people think it’s rude. Seems like no one talks about it, but I think that secretly, many people do it. So, instead of calling it re-gifting, if it makes you feel better, let’s call it recycling . 🙂
Top 10 Secret Rules of Re-Gifting (Regiving): How to Do It Without Anyone Knowing
1) Never give the same gift to the person who gave it to you.
Oh, that’s really bad. Don’t do that! lol. One of the ways, I keep track is by putting a sticky note or piece of tape on the item with the gift-givers name. Sneaky eh.
2) Make sure the person you give it to will really love it.
You don’t just want to be re-gifting something that will be re-gifted on you!
3) Sell the item on eBay and use the money to buy what you really want.
Oh man, I know I’m going to get a lot of hate mail for this. lol.
4) Always re-wrap the gift in your own wrapping.
You wouldn’t want to give a gift in a Happy Birthday bag for Christmas.
5) Never re-gift something that the original owner absolutely loves or makes a big deal about, even if you hate it.
Something like that, you should just hang on to. What if they ask, “so, how you are liking that quilt I spend 120 hours making for you?” In such cases, couldn’t your children use a new quilt? Maybe they’d love it more? Then you could honestly say, my daughter liked it so much, I gave it to her, and she just loves it.
6) Don’t re-gift items that are personalized.
This is probably pretty obvious, but if you get a necklace with your name on it, Susie, don’t try to give it to Mary.
7) Open the gift completely before re-gifting.
Maybe there’s a 20 dollar bill stuck inside that pair of socks. You never know! You might actually like the gift after all. 😉
8) Make the gift into something else.
Say you received a cute notebook, put a pretty pen with it, maybe a $5 bill and give it to a student. Did you receive a couple small toys? Make a gift basket out of it before re-gifting. Be creative.
9) Don’t re-gift something dead.
Dead plants, dead flowers, no, no, no.
10) Save it for white elephant party gift exchanges.
Sometimes those things are secret, where no one knows who gave what…PERFECT! 😉
