Re-Gift: something that you've gotten as a gift but either don't like, doesn't fit, or you won't ever use and you either put it in the Salvation Army pile or you (gasp!) throw it out.
This touchy subject brings up several notions of "white elephant" and "gag" presents and Etiquette 101 from grandma. But you either regift or you don't, and if you do, here are some helpful tips to making sure you're not faux-pas-ing yourself into the BadGirl corner where you may never receive any gifts ever again! (Perish the thought!)
I learned about regifting when I was a very small girl. As an only child, my gifts piled up after each holiday, and my "oh-so-thoughtful" mother started a wonderful ritual for me that I always assumed everyone did... after a big loot-earning holiday we'd assess my toy box. At about 2'x4'x2', there wasn't much room in this storage bench for all the toys. So before putting the new toys in there, we'd look at the old toys and see what could be parted with. Despite tears and pouting, this process always happened. Among many valuable lessons, it taught me the art of "letting go." And became a foundation for the regifting process I use today.
If you regift, as with anything, you should make a "system" of it! You don't want to accidentally gift your regift to the person who gave it to you! (Disaster!) Additionally, these tips are to not only help you sytemize your ReGifting process, but also to find yet one more way you can "go green" in your personal life!
ORGANIZE!
To start your organization out right, sequester an old storage bin, craft drawer unit, shelving, or box set to organize your regifts. I have a 6-drawer-tall plastic unit we inherited when my brother-in-law moved that I turned into what we call The Packaging Tower:
Drawer #1: Reusable, colorfu,l gift bags that we get presents/wine/or other goodies in.
Tip #1: If you go to a shower-like party and the host doesn't save them, offer to "recycle" them for her and bring them home.
Drawer #2: Tissue paper of all colors and sizes. After opening a present, we take out the tissue paper, flatten out the wrinkles, and fold it into 1/4 size so it fits in this drawer. Use Tip#1 to help collect tissue paper!
Drawer #3: Ribbons, bows, fake flowers and leaves, and old Christmas present tags. Same as #s 1 and 2, this is basically a recycle bin!
Drawer #s 4-6 are the ReGift drawers.... and we get to the meat of this system here.
Tip #1: Label your presents when they come in of who gave them to you. Most important tip!
Tip #2: Organize your presents into a kid drawer, a woman drawer, and a man drawer. This helps compartmentalize your regifts, IF you get that far, as we have.
Tip #3: If you have the perfect person to give something to as soon as you open it, label it then, and also add a note in your calendar, set about a week before their birthday or other holiday, so you remember to give it to them!
Tip #4: See Post#1 on CardMaking to save $ on cards as well.
Sure, it all sounds pretty easy (now you just have to DO it!), but what CAN you ReGift?
Examples:
Picture frames that don't quite fit your decor make great regifts when you personalize one with a picture of you and the person you're gifting to!
An olive oil dipping dish set you got as a random gift becomes a great housewarming regift if you include it with some olive oil and (homemade?) bread!
Books you either won't read or that you read carefully enough to maintain their "new" condition. BOOKS TIP: Don't write in that first page and eliminate the chance for re-regifting! (Gosh I hate that!)
Plant clippings make great housewarming presents if you've taken the special care to clip and plant it for them! Paint a boring old pot for the added touch!
Mugs and "chochkees". My personal favorite! If it's got teddies, kitties, puppies or flowers on it, or it says "Steamboat Springs" on it, it's perfect for my regift pile!
Journals make great presents for new moms, I always include a set of new markers. Similarly, random pads of paper with a new set of crayons are great for crafty kids!
Etiquette Tips:
In my personal opinion, clothes are only good ReGifts if they still have the tags on them, so save these for a "Clothing Swap" with your girlfriends- this is my favorite new alternative to taking everything to the second hand store!
Same with old technology such as cameras like poloroids or film, if it's out of date, don't regift it, but DO find out where you can recycle it!
This touchy subject brings up several notions of "white elephant" and "gag" presents and Etiquette 101 from grandma. But you either regift or you don't, and if you do, here are some helpful tips to making sure you're not faux-pas-ing yourself into the BadGirl corner where you may never receive any gifts ever again! (Perish the thought!)
I learned about regifting when I was a very small girl. As an only child, my gifts piled up after each holiday, and my "oh-so-thoughtful" mother started a wonderful ritual for me that I always assumed everyone did... after a big loot-earning holiday we'd assess my toy box. At about 2'x4'x2', there wasn't much room in this storage bench for all the toys. So before putting the new toys in there, we'd look at the old toys and see what could be parted with. Despite tears and pouting, this process always happened. Among many valuable lessons, it taught me the art of "letting go." And became a foundation for the regifting process I use today.
If you regift, as with anything, you should make a "system" of it! You don't want to accidentally gift your regift to the person who gave it to you! (Disaster!) Additionally, these tips are to not only help you sytemize your ReGifting process, but also to find yet one more way you can "go green" in your personal life!
ORGANIZE!
To start your organization out right, sequester an old storage bin, craft drawer unit, shelving, or box set to organize your regifts. I have a 6-drawer-tall plastic unit we inherited when my brother-in-law moved that I turned into what we call The Packaging Tower:
Drawer #1: Reusable, colorfu,l gift bags that we get presents/wine/or other goodies in.
Tip #1: If you go to a shower-like party and the host doesn't save them, offer to "recycle" them for her and bring them home.
Drawer #2: Tissue paper of all colors and sizes. After opening a present, we take out the tissue paper, flatten out the wrinkles, and fold it into 1/4 size so it fits in this drawer. Use Tip#1 to help collect tissue paper!
Drawer #3: Ribbons, bows, fake flowers and leaves, and old Christmas present tags. Same as #s 1 and 2, this is basically a recycle bin!
Drawer #s 4-6 are the ReGift drawers.... and we get to the meat of this system here.
Tip #1: Label your presents when they come in of who gave them to you. Most important tip!
Tip #2: Organize your presents into a kid drawer, a woman drawer, and a man drawer. This helps compartmentalize your regifts, IF you get that far, as we have.
Tip #3: If you have the perfect person to give something to as soon as you open it, label it then, and also add a note in your calendar, set about a week before their birthday or other holiday, so you remember to give it to them!
Tip #4: See Post#1 on CardMaking to save $ on cards as well.
Sure, it all sounds pretty easy (now you just have to DO it!), but what CAN you ReGift?
Examples:
Picture frames that don't quite fit your decor make great regifts when you personalize one with a picture of you and the person you're gifting to!
An olive oil dipping dish set you got as a random gift becomes a great housewarming regift if you include it with some olive oil and (homemade?) bread!
Books you either won't read or that you read carefully enough to maintain their "new" condition. BOOKS TIP: Don't write in that first page and eliminate the chance for re-regifting! (Gosh I hate that!)
Plant clippings make great housewarming presents if you've taken the special care to clip and plant it for them! Paint a boring old pot for the added touch!
Mugs and "chochkees". My personal favorite! If it's got teddies, kitties, puppies or flowers on it, or it says "Steamboat Springs" on it, it's perfect for my regift pile!
Journals make great presents for new moms, I always include a set of new markers. Similarly, random pads of paper with a new set of crayons are great for crafty kids!
Etiquette Tips:
In my personal opinion, clothes are only good ReGifts if they still have the tags on them, so save these for a "Clothing Swap" with your girlfriends- this is my favorite new alternative to taking everything to the second hand store!
Same with old technology such as cameras like poloroids or film, if it's out of date, don't regift it, but DO find out where you can recycle it!
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