Tips on How to Regift With Class
By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini
Q: Dear April Masini,
What's the etiquette for regifting? I have a bunch of brand new items from the past year that I don't need. I either already have them or they're not my style. I wouldn't give them to the close family and friends for whom I normally put a lot of time into shopping, but is it OK to put those votives into the company Secret Santa for the holidays?
Signed,
Regifting Novice
A:
Dear Regifting Novice,
Who cares how a gift got there — it’s the thought that counts. It's perfectly legitimate for you to regift those unused item! Etiquette means grace, and re-gifting can be done gracefully.
Here are some tips for regifting:
* Check the re-gift for tell-tale signs of the original gifter. Make sure there are no cards or engravings or inscriptions to you on the gift you’re about to pass on.
* Re-wrap it in current wrapping paper.
* Take of all tags that will allow the re-gift recipient to return the gift. If they return it and find out it was purchased three years ago and is no longer good for return, they’ll know you re-gifted. Does this put them in a tight spot? No more so than the fact that they’re returning a gift they got. This makes them just as guilty of re-gifting by returning.
* Remember the spirit of gift giving and don’t get into a petty keeping score mode. It’s grinch-y.
Nothing in the regift stock and not sure what to get for those hard-to-buy-for people? Try my tips for gifts teachers will love and gifts teens will love. But whatever you do, think twice before getting your ex a gift he or she will love! (I've got tips for that too.)
April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas,
and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.
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