Regifting – Cheap Or Thrifty?

Come on let’s be honest – have you ever re-gifted over Christmas? That’s taken a gift lovingly chosen for you and er…given it to someone else (re-wrapped of course)? I know it sounds cheap and somewhat tacky but I have it on good authority that 1 in 3 of us have succumbed to re-gifting at some point or other.  What’s more  in times of economic stress I can’t help but think that re-gifting is actually a thrifty mum’s best friend. Of course, like most things it’s how and why you do it that lets you off the guilt hook. In my case I tend to re-gift only under the following circumstances: 1.  When I’ve been given the same gift twice (this happens a lot with Jamie Oliver cookbooks) 2.  When my children are given something too old/too young or not their kind of toy, in which case it’s just a waste to leave it in the cupboard. 3.  When I am given something I will never use such as a sushi making kit or paint-your-own-dinner service set. 4.  And lastly when I am caught unaware by an unexpected person bearing gifts to me on Boxing Day. While I suspect this doesn’t let me off the hook, I think they’re pretty good reasons to re-gift. If, like me you’re tempted do take my advice and follow my re-gifting do’s and don’ts to avoid humiliation and possible life long grudges.
  • Don’t tell people you have re-gifted a gift to X. It’s guaranteed to get back to X and also have your friends thinking you’re an ingrate unworthy of gifts.
  • Don’t re-gift a toy your child was given in front of said child. Or they will say very loudly – ‘Hey I got that for my birthday. Where’s mine?’
  • Don’t re-gift gifts that you loathe. It will reflect badly on your taste and you will feel horribly guilty.
  • Do not re-gift anything that is unusual, hard to get or a limited edition. These are the gifts that will be talked about and continually brought up in conversation making it more likely that you’ll be caught out.
  • Do remember who gave you what as you don’t want to re-gift to the person who gave you the gift in the first place.
  • Do rewrap when you re-gift. There’s being cheap and being CHEAP!
So what do you think of re-gifting? A good idea or a horrible one. Let me know.