7 Rules That Make Re-Gifting Less Obvious and More Thoughtful

by N/A, 10 years ago | 1 min read

There's no shame in it. We've all done it. Just some of us have been smart enough not to get caught in the act. Follow this basic re-gifting etiquette, or set of guidelines, to flawlessly pass along that gift you just don't want to keep that badly.

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1. Always re-wrap the gift.

Nothing's more of a re-gift dead-giveaway than leaving it in the same wrapping you received it in, especially when the wrapping style doesn't match up with the other gifts you actually wrapped yourself (at, say, a Christmas gathering, for instance). Also, what if there's a card with your name on it still tucked away in there somewhere? Embarrassing.

2. Never re-gift a gift to an immediate family member.

Because they'll know, and there will be problems. It might be ok to re-gift to your parents, a sibling, or a child in some scenarios–such as if you truly believe that the family member will absolutely love the gift. In that case, you should definitely say up front that it's a re-gift, but you knew they'd love it.

3. Don't re-gift to the same circle of friends.

Assuming you've got more than one circle of friends, that is. If you get a gift from one friend in a friend group and try to pass it along to another, you're asking for drama. They will know. But to a different friend in a different friend group–that's another story.

4. Try to do at least a little research before re-gifting.

Don't just re-gift the gift because it's a convenient time for you to get rid of the thing. Make sure the target of your re-gifting would actually like the gift–or, at the very least, make sure the gift is appropriate for him/her.

5. Spread out your re-gifting.

That means shoot for no more than ONE re-gift per event. Otherwise, the re-gift is more of a selfish action than in the true spirit of gift giving. And the point of giving a gift is, of course, doing something nice for someone else rather than yourself.

6. Don't regift something meaningful or specialized to you.

This includes something specially customized for you–such as a nameplate or other specialty item. There was clearly a lot of thought behind that gift. Whether the original giver will find out that you passed it along or not, it might be best just to suck it up and keep the thing.

7. Try to do your research in the first place.

Before you give any gift, you should always do your research to make sure the person will actually like the gift you give him/her. That way, you can help to break the re-gifting cycle before it starts. We're all in this together folks, and we all share some responsibility in preventing the need to re-gift from even arising in the first place.