Is It Okay To Re-gift That Present You Just Received?
Christmas has come and gone and maybe you’ve received some stuff from Santa that you’re not quite thrilled with. A gift card to a store you don’t shop at, an appliance you’ll never turn on, or something similar. The big question- Is it ok to re-gift that present you just received?
From my perspective, the short answer is yes, it’s ok. There are of course some things you should keep in mind. Is it something like a gift card, where you don’t run the risk of the person who gifted it to you ever finding out that you re-gifted? If they won’t, then go ahead and let go of that unwanted item. In fact there are websites where you can trade in your gift card. Just google search for that.
Also, is it something you think someone else would actually want. If it’s just a lame gift all around, then tossing it at someone else isn’t the nicest thought either. Think about who you are planning on giving it to and whether or not they’ll actually use it!
Now, here’s the biggest thing to consider. And this one is sort of a grey area. If the person who got you the gift really thought it was something special for you in particular or went out of their way to make it personal to you alone, then you can’t re-gift. I say this because I’ve had it done to me before. I spent a fair amount of money acquiring this hard to come by item for a good friend because I thought he might really appreciate it. And then I came to find out – he sold it on eBay to make some cash.
That didn’t feel good. And it made me question my whole reason for why I gave in the first place. It should be to bring a little bit of happiness to the person you’re giving to. Or maybe show how much you think of them. It shouldn’t be to look for thanks or praise. But I digress.
Long story short. Is it okay to re-gift that present you just received? It’s ok in my opinion. But you want to make sure you’re not going to hurt anyone’s feelings. And also, that the person you’re regifting to, will appreciate the item more than you.
Also, keep in mind – this is just my opinion and I’m far from an etiquette expert. Far, far, far from one!
