The Rules Of Re-Gifting (And How NOT To Get Caught)

Risks Of Re-gifting

Re-gifting is tricky business! On the one hand you feel bad because someone gave you a present that was meant just for you. But on the other hand, you don’t want that item to go to waste. Or maybe you got a Kermit puppet and have no clue what the heck to do with it. Actually scratch that. Kermit puppet would be unreal!

Rules Of Re-gifting

If you’re planning on heading down that slippery slope of re-gifting, there’s a great article in Reader’s Digest that gives you tips and best practices to make sure you’re following proper refitting etiquette. They offer ten tips in their article, but here are three that can’t be missed:

1. Don’t re-gift a bad gift. Give it away because it’s something you don’t need or something you already have. Don’t re-gift something that you know is total garbage.
2. Hide all evidence. Make sure there are no little bits of tape from the previous wrapping job. Also double-check boxes and tags for personalized notes from the original gifted.
3. Homemade? Keep it! You can’t give away a homemade or handmade gift. It was made just for you. Even if that macaroni snowman Christmas ornament is hideous you can’t regift it. Just bury it at the bottom of the decoration box.

Busted!

You can check out the full list of re-gifting rules here. Have you ever been caught re-gifting? How did you handle it? A hideous mug that has a straw hole in the bellybutton of a Sumo wrestler was making the rounds in my family for a few years, but fortunately was “accidentally” destroyed by one of the recipients. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if I gave someone something that they then re-gifted (give it to someone who will like it), but I would hate to be busted re-gifting someone else’s present.