Is Re-Gifting Really the Bane of Christmas Etiquette?
Time To Talk About Re-Gifting
There is one word that some etiquette mavens dread during the holiday season, and that word is re-gifting. Yes, my friends, it is the bane of proper holiday gift giving -- at least according to some. The question is, does the act of re-gifting really warrant such disdain and contempt? Absolutely not. You can re-gift in style, just keep the following in mind...
Please Re-Wrap It
There is really nothing wrong with re-gifting, but please, please, please re-wrap the presents you re-gift. How do you know the person who gave you the gift didn't leave a card or a note inside the wrapping paper? How embarrassing would it be for your gift recipient to see that?
Remember Who Gifted it To You
The biggest rule of re-gifting is remembering who gave you the gift to begin with. You don't want to hand Aunt Suzie the mug she bought you two years ago. When you receive a gift you plan on re-gifting, make sure you note who it's from and when you do re-gift it, make sure the person who gave it to you originally won't find out about it.
Don't Re-Gift Dated Gifts
That Milli Vanilli CD you never unwrapped? Don't try to re-gift it now. Unless you have a friend who never gave up on the duo, you don't want to re-gift dated items like that. Not only does it scream re-gift, but it screams tacky re-gift loud and clear.
And remember, while re-gifting can be done in style, make sure you don't re-gift to the same person over and over. Eventually they might catch on to what you're doing, and everyone deserves a first-hand gift every once in a while.