You Shouldn’t Have. But if You Did, Re-Gift it!

Christmas with the family always carries an air of suspense. Will that present you wrapped so beautifully measure up aesthetically, socially, fiscally and - most importantly in family gatherings - be nicer than your brother's? Will it be a genuine hit or will the recipient, oohing and aaahing with suspiciously loud enthusiasm, really be feigning the ecstasy of giftgasm?

So here's a bit of information to help put you at ease: Unless it is cold hard cash, it's going to be re-gifted. The most beautiful glassware, those color-coordinated throw pillows that acrylic sweater from Wal-Mart that appears year after year - nobody keeps anything these days, even a crowd-pleaser like a bottle of Champagne. Especially, as it turns out, Champagne. Put a trace tag on a bottle of Champagne you give someone, in the manner of the scientists that study the migration patterns of birds, and you're likely to see it make half-dozen stops, so that by the time someone finally opens it, it will very likely be flat.

According to USA Today more than 70% of people say they've re-gifted, or considered re-gifting a holiday present. Gifts from co-workers (25%) and family members (22%) are the most likely to be exchanged again and again.

There are even internet sites like AOL's Re-gifting Gone Wrong or Regiftable.com that illustrate just how widespread re-gifting has become.

I re-gift on a regular basis. It's a good frugal practice, because who hasn't gotten a present that was puzzling or inappropriate but would have made the perfect gift for someone else? Rather than throw it out, pass it on.

Admittedly, I am hard to buy gifts for. My needs/wants are few and my personal taste is fickle. I hate returning things to the store, so I created a shelf in my closet where I put things specifically to re-gift at a later date.

The rules of re-gifting are but simple common sense: Do not re-gift items that have been opened or used (a family heirloom, presented as such, is the exception); do not re-gift one-of-a-kind items, which will nail you, if the item is spotted, as certainly as a DNA sample; examine any gift carefully for old cards (one may have been tucked into the box); do not re-gift to someone in the same social group in which you received the gift.

I make sure the gift fits the person first, and then I put it in a nice box and wrap it nicely. Presentation is part of the gift. The thing I hate is when you know you get a re-gifted item, and it's a cheap gift too.

Certain items are a total, dead, instant giveaway that you not only are re-gifting, but you're too lame to put any effort into it: candles, soap, random books, mysterious CDs (unless your brother wants the hip-hop version of "Man of La Mancha"), obscure software, cheesy jewelry, scarves (do we not all own a scarf?), fruitcake, pens, cologne, boxed sets of extinct bath products (Jean Nate? No, no, no), videos or DVDs obviously acquired on a street corner, socks and any appliances or electronic gear the giftee would be puzzled to receive because they probably just got rid of it (including hot-air popcorn poppers and anything with a cassette deck in it).

Re-gifting is not without peril. The Web is filled with stories of re-gifters who have fouled up: the crystal vase, that perennial wedding favorite, with a gift card inscribed to somebody else; the fancy food with an expiration tag dating back to the late 1990s; the freshly washed pajamas that might have passed as new if it weren't for the sock and dryer sheet inside the leg.

Do you have a funny re-gifting story? Share in the comment area below.