Regifting Horror Stories Can Be Avoided

The holiday season is full of social events and a favorite of mine is the white elephant gift exchange. However, this means that I accumulate an excessive amount of manicure sets, putrid smelling lotions, and knick-knacks. One only has so much space on the mantle, so I regift them. I have been fairly successful at this with a few notable exceptions.

I once hosted a baby shower where we gave away 3 door prizes. Having a large supply of regift-ables, I supplied the prizes. My mother was in attendance and, of course, she won a door prize. It was embarrassing, to say the least, when she opened up the manicure set she had given me for my birthday, and everyone had a good laugh at my expense.

However, that was not my worst regift experience. The church Christmas party where I regifted a Christmas knickknack only to hear an elderly woman remark, "I brought this to the Christmas party last year" was the worst. I could tell her feelings were hurt. Luckily, we didn't put our names on the gifts.

We have all received a gift we didn't particularly like and are inevitably left with the decision of what to do with it. I say, regift it, but beware, regifting is a dangerous game.

Here are a six tips that will help you regift without worry.

1. Keep your regift-ables in a plastic storage container with a lid. This will keep them dust free. Nothing gives away your secret like a coating of dust.

2. Write yourself a note with the name of the gift giver and leave it in the storage container with the regift. This will help you avoid the embarrassment of giving it back to the person who gave it to you.

3. Get rid of any previous wrapping. C'mon, the least you can do is re-wrap it.

4. Make sure that the expiration date has not passed. That's right, the 2 year old chocolates you have in the pantry are not going to work.

5. Make sure that the regift is not damaged. Nobody likes a broken gift, regifted or otherwise.

6. Lastly, be prepared to eat crow if you are found out, but don't worry if you are. Most people are good natured about regifts.