I think also if it's a nice item you already have one (or two) of it's fine. Most gifts I get that I don't want I send to goodwill though.

Disagree on signed books. Years ago my much older sister got me a children's book, signed by the author, with my name in the title. I plan on giving this book to my cousin's daughter, who has the same name. I think if there's a family story to something it's rather cool.

I really don't like the idea of regifting unless you tell the person "I received this as a gift and I think you'd like it more than me". It seems disingenious to give someone something in the guise of you buying something specifically for them. I don't know.

"I really don't like the idea of regifting unless you tell the person..."

Why? Who cares that you didn't spend a few hours in the mall tracking down something and pulled an appropriate item out of your closet or cupboard instead?

If it's in clean/unused condition and you honestly believe that someone will appreciate it more and/or make better use of it - then I say regift away!

Another category, which I don't exactly consider re-gifting....

I had always admired a piece of pottery in a friend's home. One year, she gave it to me for Christmas. I was thrilled.

I guess this only works if you know the recipient really loves the item... otherwise, it might just feel like you're cleaning out your closet.

I shall re-gift this advise

It pays to be very careful when one re-gifts. A friend of mine had given a girlfriend a pair of diamond earrings that she returned to him when they broke up (a couple of days after he had given them to her). He re-gifted them to another girlfriend the next year, but stupidly put them in a Cartier box (he didn't have the original box but had an empty Cartier box lying around, rather handily). When the re-gifted girlfriend tried to return them to Cartier, she was mortified to find out that they were actually a 42nd Street purchase, and while berating the boyfriend for lying to her about their origins, the story about the former girlfriend came to the surface as well. A very ugly situation all around.

I think the girlfriend returning them to Cartier is the loser in this cautionary tale.

And I disagree with revealing the re-gifted origins. Seems like you'd also then need to tell people you got their gift on sale, or on Ebay, or at Marshall's (not Saks) if the interest of "full disclosure" weighs so heavily on you.

I think the number one rule when re-gifting is check the box to make sure there aren't any cards with lots of money in them.... oh wait, don't check the box just give the gift to me.

I was the recipient of a ticky tacky re-gift from a person involved in a secret santa exchange (*it is important to note I did NOT like this woman in the least) and i know she felt bothered by the fact I was her SS, as it is obvious she does not like me as much as i do not like her. I'm sure she hadn't taken more than a moment to pull something out of her closet, dust it off and re-wrap.

imagine my surprise when i opened up the box and saw a card with her name on it. in order not to embarrass her, I closed the box and said a polite thank you, all the while thinking what a b*atch she is. when i got home i opened the card... WOW merry christmas to me, inside the card was a WAD of cash! :)

I never breathed a word of it to her. (I know i'm a bad person) my husband thought i should send the card back to her in my thank you note.

I love being the re-giftee!

I think re-gifting a gift to someone you know will love it is great. Otherwise, it is just tacky, especially when the person receiving the gift finds out.

If you plan to regift food, check the expiration date. We once received a box of chocolates that were almost a year *past* their expiration date (not just a year old, but expired for more than a year!).

haha larchgirl that is called KARMA.

Do keep close tabs. My snarky aunt regifted a bottle of something to my sister who had given her the gift the year before. Mean or just forgetful? How about both?

I agree with someone above. If someone gives you a gift and you think another person might like it, then give to them with full disclosure. I have a family member who habitually regifts, and it is so obvious. I do not do it on principle.

I think it's okay to say 'Someone gave me this, but it is so you, you must have it.'

I think re-gifting is obvious, and without disclosure it is lying by omission.

And can a real friend re-gift another real friend? Sometimes re-gifting shows a lack of friendship.

If we didn't have these absurd rules that everybody we have ever met MUST have a gift, we wouldn't have these problems.

Call me a scrooge, but I told my real friends years ago let's not do this. I don't need stuff. I just want your friendship. THAT'S the gift for me.

I do regift whenever possible.... I believe anything you've been given that you don't like too much, has someone who might need it or appreciate it.

A lesson I learned a long time ago... Is that when you're buying a gift... make sure it's something you would buy for yourself (meaning putting some real thought on it).

I've figured out some of the above rules by common sense and I've done pretty good most of the times....

By sad experience I've also learned that not all the people you know really care what to give you as long as it's "whatever" new wrapped in colorful paper and tons of tape!, On the other hand I've received pleasant surprises from people who barely know me.....

My father fortunately taught us from very small that gifts were nice but not absolutely necessary and that it was ok not to get something at any given moment..... Thanks to that, I do tell people all the time, that I don't mind not getting anything....

I rather have nothing from someone (well, maybe lunch), than to have something that the person will know perfectly well i'm not going to like... That really strains the relationship.... as it had happened before...

As long as the gift isn't opened from it's original container and not likely to meet up with the person who gave it to me, I don't see why not regift. Last year I was given an ice tea maker - I do like ice tea, but I'd rather buy it or just drink it out - so I gave it to my sister-in-law who loves it.

I don't understand revealing where the gift came from. So now am I supposed to tell every single person if I somehow got their gift on sale too? I stick with the saying "what they don't know can't hurt them".

I agree with those who have said that, provided the re-gift is something that the recipient will use and enjoy, it makes no difference where the giver got it. It begs the question, is the value of a gift in where it was purchased and how much was paid for it, or in the fact that when the giver saw this particular item he or she knew that the recipient would like it? It's nobody's business what you paid (or didn't pay) for a gift.

I had an aunt who ALWAYS re-gifted. There was NOTHING you could give her that she would keep.

Point of my story?? None. Just wanted to join in. ;)

larchgirl--

What a lovely, touching story that gets to the root of holiday giving.

My mother-in-law once re-gifted me with a Christmas gift that I gave her the year before. It was a unique gift too, not like a bottle of wine or bath product or something. That really changed my mind about re-gifting.....and solidified my mind about my mother-in-law!

Obviously, you can re-gift if you want and not feel guilty about it. I can't do it. For me, the point of gifts is the thought behind them and taking someone else's gift to you and giving it to someone else seems wrong to me. I can't get past it.

If I receive something that I don't like, or that I already have one of, I put a sticky note on it indicating who gave it to me and when. Just one rule: gift must be from/to two people who do not know each other.