Regifting
I apologise straightaway if this post offends anyone. All my blogposts come from my own opinion, and are not aimed at another person.
OK.
So.
We are the other side of Christmas, and it is the beginning of a new year.
Went quickly, didn't it?!
I do love Christmas, and I genuinely prepare for it all.year.round.
I have begun preparations for Christmas 2022 already: one of the things I do, without any qualms, is regifting.
Taking a present I was given and giving it to another person, at a later date.
I brought up GDaughter to know this is acceptable behaviour, and that as long as thanks are given; the item received is yours to do with what you wish.
We have a small home that is not full of items. If we felt we had to keep everything we were given, not only would there be many more items here: but there would be many items that didn't make us happy. Nobody but you knows what makes you happy.
An example.
This Christmas we received - from a distant relative - a wooden box with segments inside for storing herbal teabags. The outside of the box was decorated with a seaside theme and glued-on wooden painted seaside-y things.
OK.
Thank you very much for thinking of us.
Now then.
Is this something we would choose to have in our kitchen?
No.
Why?
Well, for a start we don't drink herbal tea...and also we don't keep 'things' out on display in our teeny kitchen. On my worktop is the toaster and a bowl of fruit.
So this box is in my gift box for next Christmas, one with some other bits and bobs.
As we go through the year, I'll buy and add to my gift stash. My plan this year is to wrap gifts before December- I have a notebook which I use to write in what I have bought or made and for whom.
And there we have it.
Regifting.
What do you do with a gift received you won't use yourself? Do you regift?
Take care,
Tracey xx
We tend not to do loads of gifts and rarely do I get one that doesn't work for me but I think re-gifting is the way to go nowadays - better than using up space and finally ending up on some landfill site many months/years down the track.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that when I give a gift, I take my hand off it completely so I wouldn't mind someone re-gifting for the same reason. Someone, somewhere, will enjoy it and the recipient still has the warm thoughts that accompanied the gift.
xx
I don't just think it's "OK" to regift, I think it's necessary and important. I guess the only caveat is that it should still be a thoughtful/ appropriate gift for the new recipient (in your case, hopefully a herbal tea drinker).
ReplyDeleteGiving gifts for the sake of it, without much thought is wasteful and unkind and, frankly, everything that's wrong with society and is a big part of why I can't really enjoy Christmas (!!!!).
I hope you get no pushback on this and I hope you find the perfect person for your teabox thingy!!
Happy new year x
Is it just the box, or are there herbal tea bags inside it?
ReplyDeleteIf there are bags inside, it may be an idea to dispose of them, as by next Christmas they won't be fit to make drinks with!
I'm not in any way minimalist, and thankfully neither is my husband.
We've spent almost forty years acquiring antique furniture and lots of beautiful 'stuff' and love every item!
My best friend of fifty nine years is the polar opposite of me, in every way, and over the years she has given me some gifts which in her eyes are beautiful, but in mine, hideous! I keep them hidden away in a box in the loft for a few years, they come out when she visits, and then I charity shop them.
I have never, and will never re-gift anything, I put a lot of thought and effort into giving gifts that I know the recipient will love, and therefore wouldn't give folk 'any old thing', when it can make money for a charity instead.
Happy new year my lovely.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with regifting, I told everyone this year if they didn't like the gift I gave them to return it to me because I liked everything! I think I received a regift, not because of the gift, but because of the wrapping, it just didn't look like the type of wrapping someone would use at home. Anyway, it was a beautiful soap so I'm delighted!
Happy New Year my dear lass, regifting? have not tried that but I do not keep anything that is not used, brings a smile or has a deeper meaning for me... what's the point of cluttering up life with stuff?
ReplyDeleteIs there really any difference between giving unwanted/unusable gifts to a charity shop to sell... oftento people who will give them as a gift to someone else... and simply passing them to someone you think will like them better/use them more than you will? Depending on size I will keep things for upcoming birthdays if I can think of someone they suit, add them to my general emergency gift stash, or simply give them to someone I think will appreciate them at the time, especially if they are large or heavy and I don't have room to store them. Having severely downsized, and possessing almost no ornaments or places to put them, I always seem to have one or two things given me that I can't use or don't have room for.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fine to re-gift, but it has to be done carefully, otherwise you could upset someone. Will the original giver mind? Are they likely to visit you and wonder why the item isn't on display? A friend of mine once asked my permission to re-gift something I'd given her, and I appreciated being asked. And as the previous commentator says, it has to be an appropriate gift for the new recipient, otherwise it could look like you are just trying to get rid of something you don't like and/or not have to spend any money on someone. So if you can't think of anyone who would really like your unwanted gift, then perhaps best to give to a charity shop instead. But as long as you tread carefully, I think re-gifting is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI'm very much in favour of regifting and wouldn't hesitate to do just that.
ReplyDelete