Regifting 101

Did I ever tell you the story of the time I went to a shower for my future sister-in-law? When she was going through the gifts there was a card on a box to her and when she unpacked the crystal vase at home that night she found a smaller card inside the box. The smaller card wished Marc and Danielle all the best. My sister-in-law’s name is Adrienne and she married Daniel. It was an obvious re-gift.

Everyone has either re-gifted a present they’ve received or received an unwanted item as a re-gift at one time or another. It’s not the end of the world, especially if the present is actually something the receiver would like. I read an article this morning on nytimes.com “the art of re-gifting” and thought it would make a good topic for a post.

The article listed some rules of re-gifting:

• Do not re-gift items that have been opened or used (a family heirloom, presented as such, is the exception)


• Do not re-gift one-of-a-kind items, which will nail you, if the item is spotted


• Examine any gift carefully for old cards (one may have been tucked into the box)


• Do not re-gift to someone in the same social group in which you received the gift


• Keep meticulous records of where and when you received the gift as well as who gave it to you

I don’t want to come across condoning the practice of re-gifting, but if you do feel that you have an item you don’t need or want and can’t return or exchange it, store it or sell it and re-gifting is your last option, follow the above rules and the one below from Regiftable.com:

“If you don’t plan to announce the gift as a re-gift, ask yourself if you can keep the secret. Never feel guilty about re-gifting once you’ve done it.”