Manners & Money is a mini-series about etiquette, social norms, manners, and how it effects our financial decisions. Have you ever spent more than you wanted in order to avoid “social awkwardness”. Are some of your frugal habits frowned upon by others in your social circle? Let’s discuss!
The topic for today is “regifting”
Regifting or regiving is the act of taking a gift that has been received and giving it to somebody else, sometimes in the guise of a new gift. (source: Wikipedia)
The concept is somewhat taboo to discuss or consider until recently when hard economic times have caused people to get a little more creative with their giving. Today, etiquette guidelines are published to help us “regift with class”. Some of the common rules for regifting are:
- Never give the gift back to the original giver (this goes without saying)
- Never regift anything personalized, used, opened, expired, or homemade
- Don’t get caught
When giving, or regiving, it is important that our motives stay in check. Are gifts being presented out of obligation or out of love? When regifting, it is especially important not to just give for the sake of giving a gift, but is it something the recipient will enjoy. Consider the two regifting scenerios:
Scenario A:
Sally recieves an overwhelming amount of infant clothing at her baby shower. He baby girl outgrows the items before she has a chance to wear many of the new items complete with tags. Six months later, she is invited to Susan’s baby shower. Sally rewraps and regifts all the unused baby clothes.
Scenario B
The Johnson’s have been invited to a neighbor’s Christmas party. Their running late and realize they don’t have time to pick up a gift for the host. After rummaging through their closet, they decide to regift the set of automatic twirling spaghetti forks they received a couple of years ago. They rewrap and are on their way.
The attitude of the giver makes a difference. Out of all the etiquette advice I’ve seen on regifting, the best is this:
Only regift an item that you would have purchased for the recipient on your own. Regifting is not a substitute for thoughtful consideration of the likes of the person to whom you are giving a gift.
What do you think about regifting?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
We’ve regifted baby items before. When we got two items at a baby shower we gave the extra away at another baby shower.
.-= Craig Ford´s last blog ..Christians, Is Money Really Neutral and Amoral? =-.
There is nothing wrong with it as long as what you are giving is of good quality, still new, and as the article says, you don’t give it to the wrong person.
We’ve regifted items before and I don’t see a problem with it, as long as the items you’re giving are something the person receiving would like or enjoy. If it’s something that nobody would ever want, you’re probably better off just buying them something different.
.-= Peter´s last blog ..Do I Need A Long Term Disability Income Insurance Policy? What Do I Need To Know? =-.
I do not see any problem with re-gifting. we have done that plenty of times. On our weddings we got many duplicate items. We chose to keep them instead of taking them back to the store for cash or exchange. Once in a when a close friend has an occassion, we grab one of those ‘duplicates’ and re-give.
.-= Joseph | kickdebtoff.com´s last blog ..Getting Out Of Debt – What Motivates You? =-.
So far the general consensus seems to be regifting is OK as long as it is something useful, done with tact, and the right attitude.
Thanks for providing your insight! Keep it coming!
I remember my parents telling me of a wedding gift they received from friends of theirs, a lovely boxed china set. Upon opening the box, my parents discovered a wedding card inside, addressed to their friends who married a year earlier! I think this would fall in the ‘don’t get caught’ category…
Awkward! I would definitely classify that under “don’t get caught”!