National Regifting Day
Today is National Regifting Day, a holiday invented in 2006 by a credit counseling service and made official in 2008 with a proclamation by Colorado governor Bill Ritter, Jr. It’s always celebrated on the third Thursday of December, which just happens to be the most popular day for company Christmas parties and their Secret Santa gift exchanges. Coincidence? You decide.
Before you attempt to regift unwanted presents, there are some things you need to know.
- You should be reasonably certain the recipient will enjoy your (unwanted) gift. Be honest–with yourself, of course. When it comes to your “regiftee,” you’re going to lie like a rug.
- The gift must be brand new and in its original packaging.
- Don’t regift a personalized item!
- Examine it closely—very closely–to ensure you’ve removed any tags before you wrap it in new paper.
- Be careful not to regift something to the original giver. (Rookie mistake!) If you can’t remember who gave it to you, don’t give it to anyone else.
- Regift only when you are sure the new recipient won’t tell the original giver about what they received from you. Try to regift in different social circles.
- Be prepared to fully commit to the lie. If you don’t have a ready response to a question like, “Where did you find this? I’ve been looking everywhere for one!” your ruse will be exposed.
If anything goes wrong, know that the resulting moment of embarrassment will feel like it stretches to infinity. On second thought, why not donate it to charity and give something new? You may get it back next year. Act surprised.
See also:
The Label Maker – Seinfeld’s origins of regifting
It’s very important to follow the groundrules of regifting. As the post says, the original gifter must never know about the shell game being played with their heartfelt generosity. ;-)