The Art of Re-Gifting

Are you all done cleaning up from the Holidays?  Did you receive a gift or two that you don’t know quite what to do with?  Perhaps it is a vase that does not fit your decor, or a sweater that is not your color.  Or maybe it is that other item that every time you look at it, you shake your in amazement that the giver actually thought this would be something you would love and enjoy!

If that ’special something’ is an item that cannot be returned, then you naturally think about RE-GIFTING.  A Harris poll found that over 70% of us think that re-gifting is OK, and over half of us have re-gifted something.

There is an art to re-gifting, and some rules to follow according to Jodi R. R. Smith who wrote From Clueless to Class Act: Manners for the Modern Woman.  She suggests that re-gifting is OK if the following criteria are met:

• The item is new and has never been opened. My husband and I received a wedding gift of some lovely crystal.  It fit the box but the description did not coincide with the contents.  It could have been an honest oversight at the store, but it is something that I will always remember.
• It is something you would have bought for the person anyway. If you don’t like it would you really pick it out as a gift for someone else?  *Read on for another suggestion.*
• The original giver and the new recipient don’t know each other at all. Oh my, how embarrassing that would be!  In our house we re-use gift bags.  Once my daughter exclaimed “Wow, that is the same gift bag that she used to give you your birthday present last year!”  Who remembers those things anyway!!??  Might be a good idea to attach a note when you use one of these items to stock your gift area.
• You have completely re-wrapped the gift. Also make sure there are no gift card inserts or other identifying information.

*My husband’s office holds their Annual Holiday Party in January.  December is just too stressful and busy, and everyone is more relaxed in the new year.  The highlight of this party is the gift exchange.  Everyone brings a gift that is tastefully wrapped in holiday paper.  The rule is that this is a gift, given to you, and for which you have no use or desire.  Based upon some formula that we create each year, we choose a gift.  No gift is opened until everyone has chosen from the pile or chosen a gift that someone else selected (they then pick again).

And every year the most amazing thing happens….there is always someone who absolutely loves their gift!  One year a pediatrician received a Loony Tunes tie that he knew his patients would love, and another year someone else loved the whimsical corkscrew.  If the gifts are not loved, they go directly to charity and we all know someone will be happy.

I’d love to hear your favorite re-gifting story.

JoEllen

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