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The Art of Re-gifting
By Angela Ford Baerg
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| Photo: Alex Bramwell |
It’s five o’clock, and Aunt Edna’s party is at six. You’re tired, hungry, and you have no gift. So what do you do—skip dinner and run to the mall? Not if you’ve got something stashed away that you can re-gift.
Some people are horrified by the concept of re-gifting, but re-gifting done right can save you stress and money while satisfying the recipient, too. Just make sure to safeguard your actions by following these simple tips:
Stockpile. There are very few bad gifts; more commonly good gifts get eye-rolls because they are mismatched with their recipients. Rather than piddling with and then discarding unneeded gifts like that stainless steel Swiss cheese knife set, leave it unopened and set it aside.
Seek a place to hide them. Whether it’s a closet shelf or a desk drawer, find a furtive place to store your gifts until your hour of need. Your recipient will be much more grateful and surprised to receive his elliptical fire poker if he hasn’t seen it sprawling on your kitchen counter for the past six months.
Keep track. When you receive a gift, either make a mental note of the giver or write it down. The last thing you want to do is to give your neighbor back her toucan-shaped touch-lamp.
Give it a makeover. As nice as the wrapping job might have appeared the first time around, always give it a once-over before you pass it on, making sure to remove and replace gift-tags, crushed gift bags, and any ratty looking paper.
Think about it. Just because you’re passing on something you already own doesn’t mean you can’t be thoughtful about it. Rather than just sticking your niece with any old gift, peruse your collection carefully, selecting the gift you believe would please her best. Attaching a brief note explaining why you thought she would like it can also help diffuse re-gifting suspicions.
Keep quiet. If you feel compelled to educate your coworker about where you found her purple cactus vase, go right ahead; on the whole, however, silence is a safer policy.
When it doubt, don’t give it out. It’s the people who gift-wrap rusty paint cans and moldy socks who give re-gifting a bad name. If you think it’s fairly obvious that your gift has been more than gently used, then perhaps its home should remain your own.
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