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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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!

Missed the introduction to this series?                 Find out more about #write31day

Click 31 Days of Saving on Holiday Gifts.

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A limited budget can force you to get extremely creative when it comes to getting your holiday gifts.  You are forced to think so far outside of the box that you can’t even see the box anymore.  It can be hard to shift your thinking to maximize your holiday.  To help get you started, here are 3 unique ways to get holiday gifts this year.

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[bctt tweet=”Don’t miss these 3 unique ways to get holiday gifts this year! #holidaygifts”]

Use Personal Activities

Hobbies

If there are any activities you take place in, don’t overlook these as potential ways to get holiday gifts. For example, I love to scrapbook and each year I attend a couple of events. I am automatically entered to win one of the door prizes. In addition to that I typically spend $10-$20 on raffle tickets because these events are always for charity. These raffle prizes can make great gifts and I keep that in mind when entering. In September, I attended a crop that cost me $40 to attend plus the additional $20 I spent on raffle tickets. At this event I won 4 prizes (for the record, this is not typical). Here is the breakdown of the value of the event as well as the value of the prizes.

• 12 Hours of Scrapbooking, child-free (Priceless in my book)
• Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner ($25 value)
• Door Prize: Tastefully Simple Cooler filled with food and drink mixes ($35 value)

 

• 1st Raffle: Autumn Scrapbook Gift Basket with an additional $20 gift card ($60 value)

 

• 2nd Raffle: Back to School set with Smash Journal ($50)

 

• 3rd Raffle: Instax Camera and Film ($100)
• Total Value: $270.00!!

This is just an example to keep in mind at the next event you attend whether it is a craft event or a golf scramble.  Think outside the box and keep a holiday gift mindset, especially this time of year.  Don’t limit yourself to traditional ways of getting gifts.

Have a Girl’s Night

Get some much needed time with the girls and get some of your holiday gifts made at the same time.  Grab some wine and some craft supplies to assemble gifts together.  This is also great when only one of the girls in your circle of friends owns larger tools you may need such as a sewing machine or a Cricut.  Before getting together, be sure to determine the gift you will be making and what supplies each lady is responsible for bringing to the party.  Batch gifts make great ideas for these nights.  Here are two examples to get you thinking:

• Card Sets – Each person is in charge of one specific card style.  For example, you might be in charge of thank you cards and your friend will make the sympathy cards.  At the end of the night you assemble the sets using one of each card and each lady leaves with sets to give as gifts.
• Scarves – These are another great craft idea for a girl’s night.  If you and your friends knit or crochet, bring your supplies and work on your gifts together.  If you don’t knit or crochet, have each guest bring some fabric of her choice and sew infinity scarves.  Delegate tasks (such as cutting fabric, pinning scarves, and sewing projects) to each friend.

Host a Cookie Swap

Cookie and treat tins make excellent hostess gifts during the holidays as well as gifts for teachers and coworkers.  Have your guests bring their favorite treats and assemble gift tins for everyone to give as gifts.  If you want to turn it into a longer event, you can also choose to have everyone bring the ingredients to make the treats and turn it into a baking party.  The caveat of this is that is can easily become an event over 5 hours long so be prepared for that when choosing this option.

Again, there are hundreds of unique ways to get your holiday gifts.  These ideas are just the starting point to help get you thinking.  Customize these ideas and make them your own.  Also, don’t miss how to get your gifts totally free to help you even more.

See where I’m linking up!

Missed the introduction to this series?                 Find out more about #write31day

Click 31 Days of Saving on Holiday Gifts.

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