The Thursday prior to Christmas is National Re-gifting Day. Get together with friends for a Pre-Christmas Re-gifting Party.  This is the perfect time to trade, re-gift, play Dirty Santa and just have some fun.

Many people ask if it is OK to “re-gift” an item you received during the year as a Christmas present.  According to Emily Post “Not really. Re-gifting is a symptom of the surplus of “stuff” many people find themselves with, and their desire to be practical and give away things that they know they will never use.”  The title re-gift suggests that the item is unwanted. On the other hand re-gifting is a form of reducing, re-using and recycling, this benefits everyone.

This is a personal choice but if you decide to re-gift here are some tips to consider.

• Make sure you do not hurt anyone’s feelings.  If the giver had special feelings about it, do not re-gift.
• Was the gift handmade specifically for you? Do not re-gift.
• Be certain that the item is something that the recipient would “really like to receive’.  Perhaps they admired it and you would love them to have it.  Go for the re-gift.
• The gift is brand new, still in the package with instructions.  Go for the re-gift.
• Did you ever refer to the item as ugly, unwanted, junk or clutter? Do not re-gift.
• It was a duplicate of something you already have. Go for the re-gift.
• Ensure that you do not give it back to the original giver. If you are unsure, do not re-gift.
• You don’t quite have enough money to get through the holidays. Go for the re-gift.
• If you are at a Re-gifting Party – then pretty much anything goes. Go for the re-gift.

Once you have gone through the list above and have decided to re-gift an item, wrap it nicely and give it proudly just as it was given to you.

Merry Christmas!

 

Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash