Re-gifting gets a bad rep in society but it shouldn’t. Sometimes your style changes and that gorgeous décor you have just doesn’t suit you anymore. You may receive an amazing and thoughtful gift on holiday and after a year of it sitting in the box in your home; you realize your family is never going to use it. Giving these items to someone else is the same as getting thrift gifts for friends and family only better.
Re-Define Your Thinking
Before getting to the tips on how to re-gift with class, first you need to change how you perceive re-gifting. There are three main ideas to think about in order to shift your thinking.
Cutting Down on Excess
In addition to the regular benefits that would go along with thrifting your gifts, you are also cutting down on excess in your home. Re-gifting removes clutter and free up valuable storage space for the items you actually use.
Giving Items a Home
Instead of being shoved in a closet somewhere, you can give items to people who are truly delighted to use them or show them off. Maybe you have a gorgeous Thomas Kincaid lighthouse painting that doesn’t match the new French Country décor of your bathroom remodel. Re-gifting it to a friend to use in her coastal bedroom décor is much better than showing a beautiful work of art in the attic.
Saving Money
Obviously, one of the greatest perks of re-gifting is that it saves you money and time. Of course, you don’t want to become so focused on saving money that you begin re-gifting items that you shouldn’t be. That is where the three rules apply.
[bctt tweet=”Make sure you follow these rules to re-gift with class the season. #holidaygifts”]
The 3 Rules to Re-Gift with Class
- Make sure that the items you are re-gifting are not damaged in any way. Just as you wouldn’t accept a damaged product from the store to give as a gift, you don’t want to give out damaged gifts. The only exception to this rule is when giving family heirlooms. Heirlooms will likely have suffered some damage throughout generations of being passed down. A small chip in an ivory hair comb that belonged to your great, great grandmother is still a thoughtful and cherished gift to give.
- Be picky. When re-gifting items you need to be extremely selective. This applies to the items you choose to give as well as who you choose to give them to.
- Select gifts to give just as you would when buying them. If you have a friend that loves movies but never has time to read, don’t give her a bunch of books for Christmas just because you have a ton of books to get rid of. The same goes for your 14 year old niece who loves music. Just because she loves music doesn’t mean she wants your old CD’s. She probably doesn’t even own a CD player.
Follow these 3 rules and you will be able to re-gift with class. In many cases, the recipient won’t even know it is re-gifted. Remember avoid giving stuff just to get rid of this and save money. When you do that, the person receiving it can tell and it comes across as such instead of being the thoughtful gift they deserve. Avoid this if you want to retain class in your gift-giving.
See where I’m linking up!
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