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Do Fish Dream ?

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Re-Gifting - do you .... or don't you (you know you DO !)



Okay, Christmas is over and by now you will have already decided which gifts are heading straight to the "Re-Gift Cupboard" at home. Although the practice pre-dates the term substantially, "re-gifting" was introduced on "Seinfeld" in 1995, and ever since, what was once a dirty little secret has become a way of life - c'mon admit it. Oh, I know, I shouldn't talk about re-gifting. It's like that other practice, you know, the one everybody does, but no-one likes to admit to doing it.

Personally, I have no qualms about re-gifting when done properly. Now, don't get me wrong; when carried out carelessly, re-gifting is a recipe for public humiliation and long-held grudges. But, when done with finesse and tact, re gifting can be a happy experience for all - providing you follow these few do's and don'ts. Starting with: DO take out the previous gift card and DON'T re gift books with names or inscriptions in them .... Duh !

Don't mention it, please: If you tell your sister-in-law, in so many words, "I have no use for this nasty vase, so I'm giving it to you," even a person in need of a vase will hate you. I say, keep your yap shut unless there's a good reason not to.

Do update the wrapping: The next most common re-gifting faux pas, after leaving the previous gift card attached, is to re-gift in the original, now crinkled and possibly torn (hello!?) wrapping paper or box. If the phrase "Hey, it looks almost new" crosses your desperate holiday brain, remember that the "almost" is a dead giveaway to the new giftee.

Don't give hand-me-downs as re-gifts: Novice re-gifters (and those who are terminally tacky) often get these two categories confused. Don't. A hand-me-down is an item you've already used that you'd like to pass along to someone who will enjoy it and use it more than you will. For example, a shirt you've removed the tags from and worn twice. You could wrap it up and give it as a "gift" only if another real gift is provided. A re-gift should be just that: a gift you've never used that you're giving away as though it were a . . . real gift!

Do keep track of who gave it to you first: For goodness sake, keep a small notebook of who gave you what. I had a harrowing experience that involved re-gifting a book to a friend - who had given them to me two years before. I forgot. She remembered. And she let me know about it. I could have died.

Don't EVER re-gift these items: Certain items are a total, dead, instant giveaway that you not only are re gifting, but you're too lame to put any effort into it: Fondue sets, candles, soap, daggy CDs, obscure software, cheesy jewellery, scarves, fruitcake, pens, cheap (4711 or Charlie anyone) perfume, boxed sets of extinct bath products, pirated videos or DVDs obviously acquired on a street corner, socks and any appliances or electronic gear the giftee would be puzzled to receive because they probably just got rid of it (including laser disc players and anything with a cassette deck in it).

Do have the courtesy to clean your re gifts: No-one wants to receive a rice cooker . . . with a couple of kernels of rice still clinging to it. Some hand-me-downs can be passed off as re-gifts if the packaging is intact, like the wine glasses you've belatedly decided to share with a loved one. Just wash the lipstick off the rim, 'kay?

Don't give something you've owned for a while: Not only is this in violation of the hand-me-down rule above, the giftee can and will recognize that picture frame from your living room shelf. (And while you're at it, don't re-gift picture frames, either.)

Don't give products from defunct companies:.Obvious, right (YES, it is)

Do sell your gifts on eBay: When someone first told me that, rather than re-gift, she sells unwanted presents on eBay and uses the proceeds to buy herself real gifts, I was sooo impressed. Then I realized everyone is doing it. (So THAT'S where all that obscure stuff comes from)

Retention Period: This refers to the length of time you need to keep the gift before you slide it on its way. If the people that gave it to you only visit once a year, then you can pretty much move that bad boy on its merry way as soon as they leave. If they live locally, then you may require a one or two month retention period in case they do pop in for a surprise 'fondue set' party !

Maximum re-gifting date: The MRD is in many ways determined by what the item its. Some things are classics and can be re-gifted years later; but other suckers need to be moved on before the latest version emerges in the stores. And remember, there's a hitch - unlike fruitcake, can't circulate forever. It's like the children's game Hot Potato: When time runs out, the loser has to keep the present.

There you go Bloggers; a few tips to keep your house de-cluttered and your wallet fatter ! (oh, one final rule .... Tex, the re-gifting concept is null and void for husbands and wives, so you can keep your Harley Davidson knee-high socks all to yourself, thanks :)

12 comments:

Poodles said...

I must say I don't regift very often. Mostly because our group of friends doesn't exchanges gifts anymore. We just get together and drink and eat for the holidays and birthdays. And for the family we mostly give and get gift cards and cash. Very easy.

Anonymous said...

Knee high socks! ha ha ha ha What an image I now have.

Bettie K. said...

Hysterical blog. I can honestly say that I never re-gifted; I have, however, reused gift bags.

Now...let me tell you what Matt does. He checks the gift receipts to find out the "day" someone purchased a gift. Seriously. He gets offended when people wait until the last minute, or God forbid, buy the gift the same the day they give it. I know...how friggin crazy! Talk about having a va-jay-jay.

pita-woman said...

Too funny! I'd love to write my own blog about all the crap I've gotten & either tossed out immediately or re-gifted, but I don't dare for fear of offending one of those gift givers. I'm guilty of re-gifting, especially when it comes from an in-law or co-worker.
I will say that a co-worker recently gave me a xmas ornament which I immediately re-gifted to a hostess at a party we went to. We don't put up a tree & had no use for it. I've had to trash, return or regift just about everything this co-worker has ever given me... I truly wish she'd just stop giving my gifts.

Chelsea + Shiloh said...

Love the post and the comments Missus T....first i started to have a bit of a giggle, then i thought hold on...flippng good tips here...

I don't regift and the embroidered covered brick, complete with plastic flowers still sits here, just on the offchance my gran drops in..lol

tina FCD said...

I started a tradition of sorts...I put a gift in a gift bag, wrote on the tag, to Breezee. Well, she ended up opening her gift here at my house. So, I kept the bag and my husband re-used the bag for me. So on the tag Breezee is crossed out and my name is there. We used it again but put someone else's name etc...we keep getting the bag back, now it doesn't have any more room to put anyone's name on it, so I'm adding another tag to it. I re-gift also.

Jill said...

Great tips! I'm also an Ebay gift re-seller. Whatever money I receive from the gifts I keep in my paypal account to turn around and buy beads on Ebay for my jewelry making addiction! And then I turn around and sell this jewelry, so you see, its works fantastically well. I am no longer afraid of the bath and body lotion sets I receive every year. :)

Loved this post!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, well what about your sister who checks out how much gifts cost to see whether the person is spending enough on her?


And by the way Missus, what is the "other" practice which people do but no one likes to admit doing?

I'm so far out of the loop as to what's appropriate that I don't even know which of my habits I'm not supposed to talk about.

Is it picking your nose, masturbating, swearing with highly offensive words for the female genitalia, killing small animals, speeding past police cars over double lines, looking at porn, voting for right wingers, not washing hand after crapping, not putting the seat down, turning your underwear inside out to get another day out of it, blaspheming, not embracing the ethos of breeding, or one of the many other filthy and disgusting habits I may have.

(Oh, by the way, I'm only joking, I never vote for right wingers, that would be downright unforgivable)

Unknown said...

oh tex, i'm rolling round laughing here...especially on the right wingers comment!!

as for the missus, well i'm with abbey, some great tips there..lol.. i have always been scared to re-gift, but i reuse wrapping all the time, and i make my own cards if that counts..lol

Tex's Missus said...

Poodles - great idea; if only the notion of book/music vouchers would take on in my family, I would be sooo happy :)

PP - if I can get Tex into the socks, I'll happily post a pic for your amusement

Sarah - I have a sister who does stuff like that :) Apparently, if you buy at the last minute, it means you don't care enough about her and obviously have not given the gift giving enough serious thought !

Pita - Welcome ! Yes, it is awkward - there are times when no gift at all would be preferable, especially if you have to then reciprocate to the co-worker (and somthing always stops you buying something equally awful for them). How to stop them without hurting their feelings ? when you work that out, can you please let me know ?

Abbey - I especially love the Nan gifts, and yep you have to keep them - I've got crocheted table runners and awful cross-stitched farm scenes - lovely sentimental things, but actually aesthetically very ugly :)

Tina - new twist on the re-gifting; noting it down as we speak...

Random - you are way ahead of me :) I'm planning on photographing some of my clutter this weekend and posting it on ebay - one persons junk is another's holiday slush fund :)

Tex - gawd luv ya babe - you've gone and aired ya dirty laundry (and dirty hands, dirty mind, dirty undies, dirty mouth, dirty disdain for authority)on my Blog now...is nothing sacred to you ?? Hmmmm, I think I've failed in my wifely duties to appropriately train you - you are officially a lost cause....I give up....you win...go get your Harley socks babe and hand 'em over...

Tex's Missus said...

Oops Kyles, missed you while I was responding to my husband's comment :) I'm seriously re-thinking the re-gifting thing too now after all these comments - I'm going to ebay up a storm !

Thanks for dropping by my place.

VAMP said...

I know I've been the receiver of re-gifting. I have a friend who wraps up crap she doesn't want and gives it to me. It's ok, I like crap, but I usually sell it at tag/yard sales.