Regifting...do or don't?

[DawnM]

It is fine if it is something I really wanted.

 

[knewton64]

A few years ago, my Dad mailed to me my Christmas gift (from Michigan) and well....let's just say that it was ummmmmmmm nice but the word tacky would have been an understatement of the year.

Ok....I know he meant well but........

He sent to me what looked like a wood carving of a oval shaped raised looking Donald Duck like meat platter......shelacked with some sort of a finish.
But the whole thing just looked like you could have placed it outside the entrance of a Tavern or bar in Colonial Philadelphia - advertising the establishment (I hope this gives a proper description of what that gaudy thing looked like).

So...... me being the creative person that I am, decided to attend a local radio station's promotional after Christmas party called a "Regifting party."

.....and I bamboozled my wife partner to tag along with me.

FYI: NEVER NEVER bring your maritial spouse along with you to a regifting party - GO ALONE.

That way you can pick out what Y-O-U want.

I digress -

So, she and I went in to the local shopping mall and attended the event. I tell you what there were row after row of the most gaudy stuff I have ever seen! I dang near got just seeing these things!

From neon candles, pink Flamingos to Harley Davidson piggy banks....it was there!

No, wait a minute - I spied a Harley Davidson piggy bank! So I got to thinking.......


Since the rules of the game was to put on the table what you were regifting.....one could pick up from the table a gift that you actually wanted.

So, with great pride - I showed the DJ's what gift I was giving back (the Donald Duck wood carving) and picked up what I thought woudl be just the ideal gift for a friend of ours....who just happens to like Harleys.

As I walked back to my beloved, I showed her my booty......just to have her give me a stern look as she points back to the umteen row after table row of regifted items and says, "Put that disgusting thing back!.".

I settled on some stationary for her (peace offering).


Long story short - we get home.


Later on that eveing, we were watching tv around 9:55pm.


THEN - "IT HAPPENED."


The local news was about to come on. The tv announcer was giving a tease to lead into the 10pm news. It went something like this:

"Coming up next - a local radio station has a regifting party. Lot's attended. See what was regifted. your local news is next."



NOW MIND YOU, , this tv station is on the air on tv's in the WHOLE DANG STATE OF TEXAS ......and I have a brother who lives in Houston, Texas....


And she has family locally....


Anywho -

The video of the 2 minute tease is what just dropped us to our knees.....





cuz.......

they had an establishing shot of the outide of the Shopping Mall (Grapevine, Texas).......

Then they did a quick cut to the food court (where the regifting party was held; thus showing the radio station & ALL the regifting tables)......

Then a did another quick cut to ALL the regifting tables.....

AND......


OF ALL THE TACKY REGIFTED GIFTS THEY COULD HAVE CHOSEN TO AIR ON STATE OF TEXAS WIDE TELEVISION..........

take a wild guess which one they chose to to cut to ??

And S-T-A-Y-E-D focused on (for what seemed like 90 seconds to 2 minutes) for the WHOLE STATE OF TEXAS TO SEE??



YUP - You guessed it!

That Donald Duck "Meat platter" thingee! (or atleast it looked like a meat platter... I really don't know to this day what it was).


I digress -

She & I looked at each other after what appeared to be about 2 minutes of video of that tv station showing our Donald Duck meat platter......

as we both did a great imitation of that kid from the "Home Alone" movies as we yelled something like "ACCKKKKKKKKKKK"!!!!!!! to each other while we held our hands to the sides of our face...just cringing in disbelief.


We both really hoped that both familes DIDN'T see that video clip......that played continously throughout the WHOLE DAY on that tv station.



Moral of the story??

1) NEVER TAKE your spouse to a regifting party.
2) be discreet when you regift cuz if ya don't watch out....you may have to backpedal verablly back to the giver of the gift and or their offended families.....like a MIL OR FIL.

...and that would make you an ungiver of the attempted gifted gift as you tried to regift it and gifted an ungifted gift is ungift like if not discreet.



3) and most importantly, tell your families who your favorite Disney character is cuz in my case......

MY FAV DISNEY CHARACTER IS - GOOFY.


P.S. Besides.....atleast I was able to keep the $25 shopping mall gift certificate for myself since I "gifted her" the stationary.....as I was singing Jeff Foxworthy's "12 Redneck Days of Christmas" (I participated in a fruit cake toss tossing it through a hole 50 feet away and won a gift certificate).


Merry Christmas YA'LL & & .



T.T.F.N.

 

[Madisonsmom45]

Hmm. I would regift something if I thought the person receiving it would love it.
I see nothing wrong in doing this if it is something unused and would be well appreciated.

 

[Planogirl]

I wouldn't mind receiving a regift if it's something I like. I guess that it's better than getting something new that I wouldn't like at least.

I can't believe that she left the old tags in the item!

 

[IDoDis]

A week ago A co-worker regifted a box of fudge & chocolate-dipped pretzels to me, AFTER the said gift had sat on her desk for 3 days!!! The boxes were identical -- something from Michael's that you buy to put homemade goodies in and then give away. I gave co-worker a gift that maybe she wasn't expecting. Then later in the day, the box of fudge that was on her desk was now on my desk. The gift tag that was on it when it was on her desk was removed (I could see exactly where the tag was placed because when she removed it, it also removed some of the paper from the box). A new gift tag was filled out and placed on the box.

I thanked the co-worker for the gift, but also told her she didn't have to give me her own gift. She said, "Oh no. I made that fudge. I took my box home yesterday. This is a different box. Yeah, right!

If you are going to regift, don't insult your friend's intelligence by thinking he/she is going to believe such a story. At least put the fudge in a different box or something.

I guess it's the thought that counts, right???

 

[SandrA9810]

My aunt handed me a blanket with wolves on it. I like blankets, but either fleece or knitted (like the ones with purchase at Disney). My friend in Florida LOVES wolves, so I asked my aunt if I could regift it to him. I told him the story of the blanket... gift to my aunt, to me, then to him. Before he got it in the mail he asked "so can I regift it to my brother??" I said, "sure, why not". But when he finally received the box he said he loved it and wouldn't give it up to his brother.

If I was purposely regifting something, I'd give the gift to some outside the circle of friends of the one who gave it to me. So if a family member gives me something, I'll give it to some one else they don't know. I don't want word getting back around about any hard feelings.

It was a little tacky to give something like that, in front of the person who gave the original gift.

It's always fun to receive "old gifts". A time or two, something got lost in the shuffle of christmas. So it was given the following year to the same person again.

 

[neatokimmo]

This made me laugh, what a story! lol

A few years ago, my Dad mailed to me my Christmas gift (from Michigan) and well....let's just say that it was ummmmmmmm nice but the word tacky would have been an understatement of the year.

Ok....I know he meant well but........

He sent to me what looked like a wood carving of a oval shaped raised looking Donald Duck like meat platter......shelacked with some sort of a finish.
But the whole thing just looked like you could have placed it outside the entrance of a Tavern or bar in Colonial Philadelphia - advertising the establishment (I hope this gives a proper description of what that gaudy thing looked like).

So...... me being the creative person that I am, decided to attend a local radio station's promotional after Christmas party called a "Regifting party."

.....and I bamboozled my wife partner to tag along with me.

FYI: NEVER NEVER bring your maritial spouse along with you to a regifting party - GO ALONE.

That way you can pick out what Y-O-U want.

I digress -

So, she and I went in to the local shopping mall and attended the event. I tell you what there were row after row of the most gaudy stuff I have ever seen! I dang near got just seeing these things!

From neon candles, pink Flamingos to Harley Davidson piggy banks....it was there!

No, wait a minute - I spied a Harley Davidson piggy bank! So I got to thinking.......


Since the rules of the game was to put on the table what you were regifting.....one could pick up from the table a gift that you actually wanted.

So, with great pride - I showed the DJ's what gift I was giving back (the Donald Duck wood carving) and picked up what I thought woudl be just the ideal gift for a friend of ours....who just happens to like Harleys.

As I walked back to my beloved, I showed her my booty......just to have her give me a stern look as she points back to the umteen row after table row of regifted items and says, "Put that disgusting thing back!.".

I settled on some stationary for her (peace offering).


Long story short - we get home.


Later on that eveing, we were watching tv around 9:55pm.


THEN - "IT HAPPENED."


The local news was about to come on. The tv announcer was giving a tease to lead into the 10pm news. It went something like this:

"Coming up next - a local radio station has a regifting party. Lot's attended. See what was regifted. your local news is next."



NOW MIND YOU, , this tv station is on the air on tv's in the WHOLE DANG STATE OF TEXAS ......and I have a brother who lives in Houston, Texas....


And she has family locally....


Anywho -

The video of the 2 minute tease is what just dropped us to our knees.....





cuz.......

they had an establishing shot of the outide of the Shopping Mall (Grapevine, Texas).......

Then they did a quick cut to the food court (where the regifting party was held; thus showing the radio station & ALL the regifting tables)......

Then a did another quick cut to ALL the regifting tables.....

AND......


OF ALL THE TACKY REGIFTED GIFTS THEY COULD HAVE CHOSEN TO AIR ON STATE OF TEXAS WIDE TELEVISION..........

take a wild guess which one they chose to to cut to ??

And S-T-A-Y-E-D focused on for the WHOLE STATE OF TEXAS TO SEE??



YUP - You guessed it!

That Donald Duck "Meat platter" thingee! (or atleast it looked like a meat platter... I really don't know to this day what it was).


I digress -

She & I looked at each other after what appeared to be about 2 minutes of video of that tv station showing our Donald Duck meat platter......

as we both did a great imitation of that kid from the "Home Alone" movies as we yelled something like "ACCKKKKKKKKKKK"!!!!!!! to each other while we held our hands to the sides of our face...just cringing in disbelief.


We both really hoped that both of familes DIDN'T see that video clip......that played continously throughout the WHOLE DAY on that tv station.



Moral of the story??

1) NEVER TAKE your spouse to a regifting party.
2) be discreet when you regift cuz if ya don't watch out....you may have to backpedal verablly back to the giver of the gift and or their offended families.....like a MIL OR FIL.

...and that would make you an ungiver of the attempted gifted gift as you tried to regift it and gifted an ungifted gift is ungift like if not discreet.



3) and most importantly, tell your families who your favorite Disney character is cuz in my case......

MY FAV DISNEY CHARACTER IS - GOOFY.


P.S. Besides.....atleast I was able to keep the $25 shopping mall gift certificate for myself since I "gifted her" the stationary.....as I was singing Jeff Foxworthy's "12 Redneck Days of Christmas" (I participated in a fruit cake toss through a hole 50 feet away and won a gift certificate).


Merry Christmas YA'LL & & .



T.T.F.N.

 

[Purseval]

We received a gift today that we know was part of a larger gift pack that the person had received then split up to regift the parts she didn't want. Didn't bother us a bit.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I disagree!! If I'm given something of value that I can't use or don't like, what's the better plan: to throw it out? to keep it and never use it? or to give it to someone who would use it?

I regift ALL THE TIME!

And (I'm sure I'll get flamed for this), I'm a teacher and regift many items given to me by my students. I get a LOT of bath stuff: lotions, shower gels, etc. I can't use them, and neither can my DDs. So I either throw it away, or regift it to my mom or an aunt or a girlfriend! This year, I got a set of kitchen towels/potholders that absolutely clash with my kitchen. But they match my aunt's kitchen perfectly -- so I wrapped them back up and gave them to her last night. She was THRILLED with them!

Donate the item to charity. Very simple. regifting to an aqaintance or coworker is more acceptable.It's just my personal opinion that to regift to a close relative is shoddy.. My mom made Christmas awesome for us every year( and still does). The last thing I'm going to do is give her a cheap bath set because I'll save a few bucks. I don't get her something expensive every year but I try to get something with meaning.

This is my opinion and I'm sticking to it. I didn't figure it'd be all that popular on the budget board, but oh well.

 

[NYCDiane]

This is not the first time L has regifted to family. One year, she gave my grandparents gifts she had left over from her wedding a few years previous. The gifts she gave my grandparents were nice, but not things my grandparents could use because of their diets(cheese slicer and cheese plate) which were highly controlled due to medical problems that my sister in law was well aware of. There was a receipt in the boxes that had the date of purchase on them.

Or the year she regifted earrings she'd gotten from her mom to my mother(her mother in law).

"L" sounds like a real winner.

I don't like re-gifting and especially don't like re-gifting scented products. Do you know that after a while (especially a year!), the scent in the product breaks down and there will be either no scent left, the scent will have changed (and most times NOT for the better), or the scent won't last once applied.

I've never regifted anything. If I receive something I just don't like or won't use, I will give it to charity or will give it to someone I know will use it "just because" and not as a Christmas, b'day, or other occassion gift.

Even though I don't do it, I can see re-gifting something you received and definitely won't ever use and you know someone who absolutely WANTS the item but to re-gift out of cheapness is just tacky! (and sounds like "L" is Miss Tacky 2010!)

 

[gillenkl]

I don't regift within the family - but my friend and I do have a joke "regift" that we have been trading back and forth for about 15 years - it's a broken nutcracker candle holder and when we regift to each other we have to include a new poem about the nutcracker. This is the first year I didn't get it back - I think she lost it.

For a serious regift - at least remove the tags, prices, etc....

 

[Sweety_tweety]

If I get a gift that I don't care for, I will usually just try to pass it on to someone that I think might enjoy it. I tell them up front that it was a gift that I did not care for--sometimes I get takers and sometimes I don't.

I believe I have been the recipient of re-gifts from my soon to be ex mother in law. Over the years I have received the Ove Glove, a wallet that was in a crushed unmarked box that looked like it came from the dollar store, ugly gloves, etc.

She is not the type to buy these type of things--she would see them as a waste of money. I guess she will have to find someone else to re-gift them to. LOL

 

[luv2nascar]

I regift all the time. Just cause I can't use it or don't like it doesn't mean someone else won't. I keep it low key - not within the same family. More like family gift to co worker or friend. Friend gift to family.

 

[RangerPooh]

As their primary gift no. As part of the elephant gift exchange yes. Our family gives both tacky and nice gifts and you see some appearing year after year, so for this it would be acceptable. I'd be happy to get this in an exchange.

 

[Minnie_me]

Donate the item to charity. Very simple. regifting to an aqaintance or coworker is more acceptable.It's just my personal opinion that to regift to a close relative is shoddy.. My mom made Christmas awesome for us every year( and still does). The last thing I'm going to do is give her a cheap bath set because I'll save a few bucks. I don't get her something expensive every year but I try to get something with meaning.

This is my opinion and I'm sticking to it. I didn't figure it'd be all that popular on the budget board, but oh well.

I'm a newly-single parent of two young daughters, and a teacher in a rural area. I need to pinch pennies. My mom LOVES bath and body stuff -- who said it was a "cheap bath set"???? I'm not regifting willy-nilly, not caring who I give things to. I *do* put thought into the gifts............I just don't purchase 100% of them. I think about who would really like that particular gift. Believe me, I've dropped off more than my fair share at the local Goodwill as well! Since I teach in a rural district, many of the gifts I receive were purchased at the Dollar Store, and I don't have any use for them (not even regifting).

I think it's safe to say we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[tasha99]

This year I regifted used. I got a card game called Sleeping Queens for my birthday and the kids I used it with LOVED it. I was broke at my nieces birthday (I'm a grad student), so I gave her the gently used set. I plan on buying a new set in a couple weeks when my financial aid comes in, because it is the perfect game for girls in speech therapy. (Boys like it too, but the girls went gaga over it.)

We also, this year, gave my nieces loved, used dolls from the iDolls going out of business sale 10 years ago. This was a gift mostly from my daughter as they were hers. We gave two beautiful dolls, a wooden closet with a murphy bed in it, lots of gowns, mirrors, combs, a doll rug etc.(these sets were ridiculously beautiful and detailed, and put American Girl Dolls to shame in my opinion.) My nieces got new gifts as well, but spent all of Christmas morning playing with the used dolls.

I guess I don't see what the big deal is with regifting unless it's because the item is gross.

 

[mjantz]

I regift. I'm a teacher & every year for Christmas I get a cinnamon candle from a student. I really cannot stand the smell of cinnamon. My mom OTOH, loves the scent of cinnamon. So, I normally regift one of those candles to her. Sometimes I add it with something else but other times I just put it under the tree. Many times she'll say 'Got a cinnamon candle from a student?', I say Yes & she's as happy as can be.

 

[NYCDiane]

I guess I don't see what the big deal is with regifting unless it's because the item is gross.

Because most people are not very thoughtful when regifting; they're trying to cheap out and will just wrap whatever to give to whomever. If you give a person, say, a set of bath salts and you know this person only takes showers and is not the type to lavish in a bubble bath, then what's the point? Or you give a person who dislikes cooking/baking a set of cookie cutters or cake molds?

When I go out to purchase a gift for someone, I think about the person and what they are into, what they like, hobbies, etc. I remember one year, I was puzzling over what to get for one of the attorneys I work for. People were telling me "oh, just get him a tie" but I couldn't do that. First, this guy was raised in a very wealthy family and didn't wear just "anything" --- everything he wore was high-end designer and I wasn't about to spend $100 on a tie! Second, a tie is just very impersonal. Well, here I was, walking around trying to find something and I glanced in the window of a bookshop and there it was: A coffee table book on the history of hockey!!!! There was no way, no how I wasn't going to get that book for him!! He was a hockey fanatic and played hockey on a league. I got him the book and he was absolutely gaga over it and, after the New Year, told me it was the best gift he got that year and had already read most of it and just loved it!

Imagine if I would have gotten him just some tie???

 

[tasha99]

Because most people are not very thoughtful when regifting; they're trying to cheap out and will just wrap whatever to give to whomever. If you give a person, say, a set of bath salts and you know this person only takes showers and is not the type to lavish in a bubble bath, then what's the point? Or you give a person who dislikes cooking/baking a set of cookie cutters or cake molds?

When I go out to purchase a gift for someone, I think about the person and what they are into, what they like, hobbies, etc. I remember one year, I was puzzling over what to get for one of the attorneys I work for. People were telling me "oh, just get him a tie" but I couldn't do that. First, this guy was raised in a very wealthy family and didn't wear just "anything" --- everything he wore was high-end designer and I wasn't about to spend $100 on a tie! Second, a tie is just very impersonal. Well, here I was, walking around trying to find something and I glanced in the window of a bookshop and there it was: A coffee table book on the history of hockey!!!! There was no way, no how I wasn't going to get that book for him!! He was a hockey fanatic and played hockey on a league. I got him the book and he was absolutely gaga over it and, after the New Year, told me it was the best gift he got that year and had already read most of it and just loved it!

Imagine if I would have gotten him just some tie???

But if someone had given you a book about hockey, it wouldn't have been okay to give it to him?

 

[tinatark]

We regifted some trail mix from an employee to the UPS guy - he was delivering packages to us at around 5 p.m. Christmas Eve and I think was happy to get a tin full of that stuff!