While the Stanley craze continues to be in full-effect, I remain a Nalgene fan. I will always and forever choose a Nalgene bottle as my trusty hydration companion.
A friend knows of my die-hard devotion and recently gave me a Nalgene bottle she received as a gift.
She, like most Millennial women, jumped aboard the Stanley train and never looked back, rendering this gifted water bottle useless to her.
Essentially, she regifted. And I’m here for it.
The Beauty of Regifting
Gasp, regift? What an ugly word.
How offensive, right? It means someone is giving you their crap, right? Or it means someone wasn’t thoughtful enough to buy you a present, right?
Wrong! Regifting has a bad reputation but it’s a fantastic practice.
3 Reasons to Regift
There are plenty of times regifting can be a positive practice. Here are three that most people can likely identify with.
1. Reduce, reuse, recycle — regift!
Between our Amazon Prime, Target-obsessed, BOGO retail culture that encourages you to keep buying more and more, most people have too much stuff. And with kids, the stuff seems to multiply faster than rabbits.
Enter regifting!
For example, one of my sisters-in-law has four children and plenty of toys her kids no longer use. One Christmas, I encouraged her to regift my oldest son something from their old collection. There was zero need for her to buy a new gift when she had tons of perfectly good Paw Patrol and PJ Masks toys taking up space in their basement.
My son loved it just as much as if it were brand-new (he had no idea it was a regift). Plus, when he grew out of this toy, his little brother was happy to play with it. A successful way to reduce, reuse, and recycle — all with a regift.
2. Someone else will enjoy it.
Gifts should not be about the fancy store in which it was purchased. The best gifts are thoughtful ones. And who says that can’t be a regifted item?
I was delighted my friend thought of me when she looked at that Nalgene bottle.
If you have something that you genuinely believe someone else would enjoy, by all means, regift it.
3. It’s budget-friendly.
Everything is too expensive. I’ve said this for years but the past couple years especially, I know I’m not alone in my curmudgeonly attitude towards retail prices.
Regifting is a great way to stick to a budget, which, if you’re like most families, is probably tighter than ever this year.
And, really, the value of a gift shouldn’t have anything to do with how much it cost. So no judgment if regifting helps save some precious dollars.
Tips for Regifting
If you’ve found yourself in a situation where regifting makes sense, here are three ways to do it right.
Choose Wisely
Not everything is an appropriate item to regift. For example, don’t regift something that was handmade, custom-made, or given with sentimental feelings. Anything that’s monogramed, engraved, or has deep meaning is off the table.
And it should go without saying, but don’t regfit something that’s missing parts, damaged, would not work for the recipient, or is not in tip-top condition.
Make It Meaningful
Going back to my earlier point about the best gifts being thoughtful, approach regifting with the same level of care as you would in buying a gift.
In other words, don’t look at regifting as a way to unload crap you don’t want.
Save that for when you’re playing Yankee Swap, White Elephant, or that type of funny exchange game where the goal is to bring the most obnoxious, terrible, or outlandish item.
Know Your Audience
Like many things in life, regifting is about knowing your audience. No matter how thoughtful or meaningful or fabulous the item, there may be people who balk at the idea of receiving something regifted.
And that’s okay. If your gut tells you someone is not an appropriate person for a regift, don’t do it.
Little kids are perhaps the best audience for regifting. They are typically so excited at the idea of a present, they wouldn’t think twice about where it came from.
My kids receive tons of gifts for Christmas. I appreciate the thought and love behind each one, yet there are so many, we don’t often have a chance to open them all. So, I stash them away and regift them for another occasion.
At their ages, I can only get away with doing this for a couple more years, max. But it works well and they’re none the wiser.
Regift the Right Way
Not every situation or person will be appropriate for a regift. But there are plenty of times it makes sense and can be a great option.
Overall, if you’re thinking about the person on the receiving end and have a genuine desire to give a thoughtful gift, you’re doing it right.
Here’s to normalizing — maybe even celebrating — regifting!
How do you feel about regifting? Let us know in the comments!
