Did you re-gift last year? Are you willing to fess up to re-gifting? Here is an interesting story that was to cool not to share.
Admit it, you’ve done it. You’ve received a present from a distant relative that you had absolutely no need for — like those tacky turkey pot holders that gobble when you put them on.
So, you “redistribute” them to a friend, co-worker or mailman and they thank you with a polite, but quizzical, look on their face. I am not an advocate for regifting, though I have done it a time or two when cash was sparse.
So, I started thinking of rules for giving gifts again, and came up with a few helpful tips if you’re going to “recycle” this holiday season.
- Never regift monogrammed presents. Don’t laugh, I know this because a friend gave me a nice shaving case for Christmas one year, but I immediately knew it was regifted because his initials were engraved on the back of the case. He got it back the next year, and it was a running gag for a couple of Christmases.
- If you’re going to give away wine, beer or liquor, make sure it hasn’t already been opened and used. This one is on me. Back in my college days, I used to have an extensive collection of liquor bottles as a “bar” in my apartment. One Christmas I received a gift from a friend, and wasn’t expecting it — everyone knows that once you get a gift you have to return the favor. So I quickly grabbed a bottle, wrapped it and gave it as a present. One problem. I somehow missed that the bottle was half-full. At least my friend got a laugh out of it and was convinced I drank it while wrapping it. I did not.
- Never regift items that still have the price tag on them. First, it’s kind of embarrassing when you receive a present with a price tag still attached, but even more so if you hand it off with the tag still on it. Again, I’ve pulled this one off too.
- One thing I never regift is homemade presents. First off, I’ve had a recent change of heart about presents made especially for you. In the past, I thought homemade presents were lame. In fact, I have a whole cache of them at my parents’ home and quite a few in storage at my apartment.
But getting back to regifting, some see it as tacky, some see it as rude, but the bottom line is, as the old saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts.” And during a recession like the one we’re in, my feelings wouldn’t be hurt if I received a gift that had already been given. I would just cherish the thought that someone cared enough to think of me.
Admit it, you’ve done it. You’ve received a present from a distant relative that you had absolutely no need for — like those tacky turkey pot holders that gobble when you put them on.
So, you “redistribute” them to a friend, co-worker or mailman and they thank you with a polite, but quizzical, look on their face. I am not an advocate for regifting, though I have done it a time or two when cash was sparse.
So, I started thinking of rules for giving gifts again, and came up with a few helpful tips if you’re going to “recycle” this holiday season.
- Never regift monogrammed presents. Don’t laugh, I know this because a friend gave me a nice shaving case for Christmas one year, but I immediately knew it was regifted because his initials were engraved on the back of the case. He got it back the next year, and it was a running gag for a couple of Christmases.
- If you’re going to give away wine, beer or liquor, make sure it hasn’t already been opened and used. This one is on me. Back in my college days, I used to have an extensive collection of liquor bottles as a “bar” in my apartment. One Christmas I received a gift from a friend, and wasn’t expecting it — everyone knows that once you get a gift you have to return the favor. So I quickly grabbed a bottle, wrapped it and gave it as a present. One problem. I somehow missed that the bottle was half-full. At least my friend got a laugh out of it and was convinced I drank it while wrapping it. I did not.
- Never regift items that still have the price tag on them. First, it’s kind of embarrassing when you receive a present with a price tag still attached, but even more so if you hand it off with the tag still on it. Again, I’ve pulled this one off too.
- One thing I never regift is homemade presents. First off, I’ve had a recent change of heart about presents made especially for you. In the past, I thought homemade presents were lame. In fact, I have a whole cache of them at my parents’ home and quite a few in storage at my apartment.
But getting back to regifting, some see it as tacky, some see it as rude, but the bottom line is, as the old saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts.” And during a recession like the one we’re in, my feelings wouldn’t be hurt if I received a gift that had already been given. I would just cherish the thought that someone cared enough to think of me.
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