You won't always want every gift you get during the holidays. It's OK; you're human. But when it comes to re-gifting, there is an art to doing it properly -- you know, without the original giver finding out. Lucky for you, we found some tips and tricks to help guide you through the re-gifting process!
1. Take Advantage of White Elephant
White Elephant is a GOD SEND for re-gifting. The best part, if the receiver doesn't like your gift you can pull the whole, "It was meant to be silly!" act. Plus, you can either remain anonymous or if the original gift-giver is there say, "I just loved this gift SO much I got another one for someone else to enjoy," (liar).
Any way you slice it, there's always an excuse for you to squirm out of this sticky situation during White Elephant. It's safe and spares the feelings of the one who gave you this missed-the-mark-by-a-mile gift.
2. Sneak It in a Gift Basket
Everyone loves an adorable gift basket. But here's the trick to this re-gift; theme it out so people don't even realize they're taking a gift off your hands. Did you get a lawn gnome you have zero use for? (A lawn gnome… for real?) Theme it out into a garden lover's basket!
Get a couple flower bulbs, some gardening tools, maybe even a pad to kneel on -- then sneak Mr. Gnome on in there… MUAHAHA! If the gift is going to your green-thumbed buddy, they'll love it and find some sort of use for the small guy. Everybody wins!
3. Zero in on Friends Not Connected With the Original Gifter
This requires a bit of strategy, especially if you have a tight circle of gal pals. If you have that lunch buddy you hang out with at work, she's your girl! In fact, you'll look thoughtful for "going out of your way" for her.
Here's the thing, if they hate it you'll never know because they aren't close enough for you to even know if it was re-re-gifted too! Yeah, you might be handing off your problem to someone else, but at least it's not your issue anymore!
4. "Share" With the Family
Your family doesn't know your friends for the most part. If you received a tchotchke Aunt Mildred would like -- pass it off to her! Wrap that baby up, and give it to her like it's brand new... because it essentially is. Go on and on about how you instantly thought of her the second you laid eyes on it. She doesn't have to know where you saw it.
Plus, good ole auntie won't give away the gift you gave her with love! She'll proudly display it and remind you how much she loves it every time you step foot in her house for the next year. Everyone is happy. Make sure you give her a big hug when she opens it -- you sort of owe her one.
5. Wait for a Christmas to Pass
In all reality, you've got nothing but time to give this burden away. If it's a… memorable… gift it might be best to wait until next Christmas to shove it off on someone else. Uhh, I mean give it away lovingly. Yeah, that's it.
Chances are next year, people won't even remember what gifts they gave because they'll be so wrapped up in finding the perfect gifts this year. Just make sure you remember not to give this little bundle of joy to the original gifter. That would be treacherous.
6. Choose a Different Occasion
As we all know, gifts don't roll around just at Christmas time. There are birthdays, Easter, Halloween… Arbor Day (why not?). Every season can be the season for re-gifting! You can even create something like friendship day. Make this present a thing of anticipated joy, rather than confused frustration.
Or randomly give a gift to your BFF or best work buddy. We all love receiving gifts out of the blue, right? This can easily become the ace up your sleeve every year!
7. Save It for a Frenemy
You know exactly who I'm talking about, Ms. Can't-Keep-a-Secret-if-her-Life-Depended-on-it or Miss Snarky-Sue. Ugh, why do you even associate with this person? Well, you have to give them something or face the wrath similar to the ghost of Christmas future. No, thank you.
In this situation, you'll still come off as a good friend even if your gift has been… recycled. Just don't expect much more from them in return, you might actually be swapping out one expendable gift for another. Send that gift to the repurposed gifts pile for next year and repeat the cycle.
8. Increase Its Value
So you got a Jimmy Carter Chia Pet from your long-time "friend" (thanks, girl). How do you get rid of this treasure? Own up to it and up the ante. You know you're giving off a terrible gift, but adding a gift card with it kind of cancels it out, right?
Slip in a $20 gift card to Starbucks, and you are good as gold. Sure, your friend might question the crazy gift, but she gets free coffee, so her complaints are now null and void. Combat that "Remember that time you gave me a set of Chihuahua taco holders?" with "Yeah, remember how I slipped in that killer gift card to Best Buy so you could get a new external hard drive? You're welcome!" You win, no questions asked.
9. Give It an Intriguing Background
If you receive a koi fish teapot for Christmas and tea -- or koi fish for that matter -- aren't your jam, it sounds SO much better when re-gifting to say that it's handcrafted by the finest Japanese artists and represents world peace and tranquility rather than, "I think it's from Target"? Yes, it sure does. If that teapot says anything beyond "made in America" you've got yourself an exotic story to embellish even though you know darn well that it's from the clearance section of Pier One Imports.
Did a Japanese artist actually paint it… well, if it was made in Japan it's likely someone Japanese painted art on said teapot so technically it's true… sort of. You probably shouldn't make the story TOO grandiose by saying it was used by the royalty in Zanzibar; say something a little more believable. This goes for every gift -- get creative and put your story telling pants on! Even an ugly re-gift looks pretty rad when it comes with an exotic background story!
10. Get Charitable
There is definitely someone in need who would love this gift! Not only that, but you can also claim that you gave the gift of stewardship this holiday season. Go you!
If you're feeling a little guilty about re-gifting to a charity, first, make sure it's something useful and that a potential recipient might value. Second, sneak a little something extra in. If you received a peach tree candle holder for who knows what reason, add some nice candles. At least it's a useful solution. As long as this baby is brand new, the charity would never dare to question how... unique... it is. Even a gift you don't want deserves a home for the holidays!
The Gift of Re-Gifting
Re-gifting isn't the holiday crisis you might make it out to be. In fact, by repurposing a gift you aren't necessarily fond of, you may be giving someone else exactly what they wanted this Christmas. So keep on giving those re-gifts with pride and stay creative when handing it off to someone else this season (and every other season too)!
