I’ve always found the whole gift-giving tradition of Christmas kind of strange. Most adults end up spending about as much on gifts for others as they ultimately receive themselves, so the total cost evens out. If you really think about it, you are essentially taking out money and allowing others to spend it for you. In a perfect world people would just set a budget every Christmas and go out and purchase gifts for themselves. With our current system, however, you are left praying that Aunt Gloria happens to know you as well as you know yourself, and that she understands that a cashmere doggie sweater won’t be such a good gift because you don’t have, technically speaking, a dog.
I guess I can see why people enjoy giving gifts. I mean, what’s more powerful than expressing your gratitude and unconditional love for your father in the form of an electric razor? Inevitably, the giving of gifts at Christmas will yield both hits and misses. The tradition of lousy gift-giving was actually started at the very first Christmas, when the Three Kings didn’t get the text message explaining that the King they were visiting was, in fact, an infant, and that a rattle would have been a more appropriate gift than frankincense and myrhh. Sadly, this Christmas tradition of goodwill usually ends with millions of unwanted gifts and people wondering what the hell they are going to do with them. This is where “regifting” comes into play.
Regifting is a popular trend that is spreading across the nation, and is the perfect solution for any unwanted Christmas presents. The concept is easy: simply take a present that you received but don’t want, and give it to someone else as their gift. You know the coaster that also works as a nightlight that you got from your cousin? I guarantee that it’s been regifted at least three times.
As easy and convenient as regifting is, I’ve found that you can run into some problems if you aren’t careful. One popular method of regifting is to give someone a present that you’ve had lying around for awhile that you don’t really want or need anymore. This old stuff can serve as decent gifts, as things like wine or baseball cards may have actually grown in value since you originally purchased them. Be careful, though, as not all gifts have endured the test of time. Mom probably won’t be too thrilled about her horse calendar from 2002, your brother isn’t likely to watch his highlight video of O.J Simpson’s greatest NFL moments, and those aren’t chocolate sprinkles that mice left on the sweater you gave to dad.
You should also be wary of regifting cash. True, everyone loves getting money because it allows you to pick out something for yourself or to pay off some of the debt you incurred from buying other presents. But giving money as a gift means either you don’t care about the person enough to go out and shop for them, or you care about them so much that you won’t subject them to another horrible present. I’m not sure what it means, but I do know that it was real awkward when a relative gave me $50, and then two minutes later I gave him $40 as his present.
The ultimate act of regifting is when you are somehow able to give someone a present that you had previously bought for them. My father pulled of this move when he took a pasta machine that he had given my mom several years earlier and simply wrapped it up and gave it to her again. My mom had never used that pasta machine and the plastic shrink-wrap was still on it and everything. I think mom would never have even realized that she had gotten this exact gift in the past had my dad not cracked and admitted his ploy. And while the pasta machine may not have been the best present, the story behind it still provides the best gift for my family: laughter. Now there’s something that you should regift as often as you can.
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