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09 December 2009

Regifting ... [More:] Is it ever okay or is it a big social no-no? What if your chances of getting caught are nil? Does it depend on the gift, the giver or the recipient? I love giving gifts way more than receiving them and I do enjoy picking out something special that I hope will be appreciated, yet I am guilty of the occasional regift. I justify it by telling myself I'm recycling, being green, and that it's the thought that counts. Sometimes it's a matter of, hey, I have this item, and I know (insert name here) would just love it and I don't need it, so ....

What do you think? Regifting, yes or no?
If it's the thought that counts, is a regift a lesser thought?
posted by Obscure Reference 09 December | 08:43
I regift all the time. I figure, once a gift has been given to me, it's mine to decide what I will do with it. Plus, i would never regift thoughtlessly. When I regift something it's because it's not really something I want/need and (importantly) it's something that I think the regiftee WILL like.
posted by gaspode 09 December | 09:18
I do it with wine all the time. Is that the same thing? Every time I have a party I end up with a ton of it, and every time I go to a party or dinner I brin some. I do, however, attempt to avoid giving someone bsck the same exact bottle of wine that they gave me (though clearly they like it).
posted by amro 09 December | 09:22
Ugh, typos.
posted by amro 09 December | 09:23
If it's a nice gift, sure.
posted by theora55 09 December | 10:02
I think regifting is fine as long as it's something you know the giftee will like and not a case of "OMG what do I have around the house to give this person tonight"
posted by rmless2 09 December | 10:25
What rmless said.
posted by Specklet 09 December | 10:35
I think it depends a little on the gift, but mostly on the recipient. Most of the people I know like secondhand and vintage stuff and wouldn't think twice about a gift that once belonged to someone else. Not everybody, though.
posted by box 09 December | 10:42
I don't usually regift, but I have done and have no real issues with it. Two years ago we were very very tight on finances, but we wanted to buy a family friend a holiday gift. We regifted a beautiful, unused slow cooker that he uses weekly. I thought he could use it, we thought it was a great gift but never even opened it, and upon reflection I would have just gone out an bought the same exact thing for him anyway. I often get journals or other bric-a-brac that get gifted. I also have no issue returning gifts to stores for credit. *>.
posted by eatdonuts 09 December | 10:50
I do all the time with stuff I don't want. The above cautions apply.
posted by danf 09 December | 11:00
I do this all the time, but I've gotten caught for it before when trying to do it within my family. (My mother has a serious history of buying some royally crappy presents that have no value whatsoever to the person she bought them for.)
posted by sperose 09 December | 11:07
I do this, though only with friends and family close enough that I can make full disclosure to them if want. I also make sure I'm not regifting too close to the original gifter. For example, my generous MIL gave me a set of glass calligraphy pens that I cannot use no matter how I contort my hand. Though they'd be quite suitable for her own daughter, I won't regift them where my MIL might see them --- I wouldn't want to run the risk of hurting her feelings.

I also rarely regift for occasions: Christmas, birthdays. I'm much more likely to take the gift and pass it on casually. Not sure why that is, and if someone regifted a suitable thing to me, I'd be thrilled.

What is not keeping me from holiday regifting: finickiness. In my family, we go one step beyond this and occasionally give each other our own used but lovely gifts: I call it "shopping for the basement." Example: I remarked how much I'd like a teapot. My sister, whose basement is crammed with stuff from our parents' home, her late husband's childhood home, and her late sister-in-law's home, had six in storage.

She gave me a lovely teapot for my birthday, along with some handsomely mod printed linen napkins that she washed and pressed. I love love love them, she found exactly the right thing, removed some clutter from her home, and didn't have to shop or spend money.
posted by Elsa 09 December | 11:44
One of my favorite things about snow is... || THIS IS A SHOUTING THREAD!

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