Tips to Regifting this Holiday with a Touch of Class

We've all done it: regifting. That time honored practice of giving someone a gift that someone else has given us (that we either do not want or do not need). Some of us have done it badly. Some of us have done it really badly. If you are still tempted to regift - here are some tips for you to help with the process.

Thou Shalt Not Regift Someone Close to the Original Giver. Imagine the scenario: person A has given you a holiday sweater. Perhaps it has something charming like snowmen on it. Sounds just lovely, doesn't it? You need a gift for person B. Person A and person B are friends. If you give person B the sweater that person A gave you, then person A is going to suspect that you have regifted. When person B wears that sweater in front of person A, they are certainly going to have some questions about where did they get that lovely sweater, and it is not going to be pretty. It is much, much better to give the sweater to someone NOT associated to person A at all, a coworker, a friend in another social circle, just about anyone else.

Thou Shalt Not Regift Without Putting Some Thought Into It. While it is great to have a possible gift right on hand, does this mean that it is the right gift? Not all of the time. Giving someone the wrong gift for the holidays probably isn't the message you want to send. We are all busy, we all have families, jobs, other obligations that keep us busy. The very worst that happens is that you say "your gift this year will be late. I wanted to get you something special and I still need to pick it up." You obviously cannot do this to a child, but most adults will certainly understand. They will also be touched that you are taking that much thought with their gift.

Thou Shalt Not Regift Without Rewrapping. Tempting though it is to simply give someone a gift that is already wrapped and ready to go, don't. Maybe your friend or family member told you what it was and you decided on the spot that you don't want it. But that is not a great reason not to rewrap it. Take the time and rewrap the gift. Make it look pretty.

Thou Shalt Not Regift Old Gifts. If the gift is from last year, it might be okay, does it look old? Does it look like it has been sitting around for a year? Is it something that you would buy brand new at the store today? These are the questions you need to ask yourself before regifting this item. You don't want to insult someone by regifting with an old item.

So what can you do with some of these gifts that just haven't worked out for you - if you aren't going to be regifting them? Well, here are some ideas for that too!

Turn them into cash. Sell them on ebay.com or another auction site. What doesn't work for your regifting may work perfectly for someone else's gifting needs.

Turn them into a good deed. Give them to a charity that is giving gifts to those in need. Homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, daycare centers are some of the places that are always looking for good holiday gifts for their clients. So are some nursing homes. Make a couple of phone calls and see who would be interested in taking your items off of your hands.

Remember, regifting should be done with as just as much thought as giving a gift. The next gift you open could very well be - a regift!