Regifting
Today, before the airport dealt with computer glitches and delays, I had the opportunity to talk to many of you about the practice of regifting.
A new survey out today says nearly half of those asked admit to getting a gift and passing it on to someone else as a gift. Of those people who do regift, many say they have even sold the present just to get it off their hands. I admit I am someone who has passed on a gift (only once) and I’m glad that I’m not the only one who is open about it.
Many people I spoke to say they too have rewrapped a present and sent it to someone else. Most of the items they passed on were clothe, such as socks, or that awful looking sweater your mother knit you in 1989 and decided to give you last year.
One man even said he’s been the victim of a regifter in a funny way. He said him and his wife once got a Christmas present from some friends of theirs. The funny thing is they had gotten their friends that exact item last year for the holidays. He said he shrugged it off and just laughed about the whole thing.
Many of us have our own stories and so do I. When I was about 10-years-old I got a dictionary from someone a week or two before Christmas. I didn’t care for a dictionary at the time so I wrapped it up and gave it to my little brother on Christmas day. I was called on it and got in trouble and that’s why I will never do it again. My parents made sure I learned my lesson.
So is it appropriate to regift? I personally don’t have an opinion on the matter, but there were many people I spoke with who felt the idea of passing on something you don’t like to someone who could enjoy it is fine. They feel there is nothing wrong with it.
But one man said it is completely wrong. He says a present should be from the heart and a regift means nothing.
In the end, I don’t know about you but as long as I like the gift I get…I don’t care whose hands it’s been passed through.