Is it right to ‘re-gift’ an unwanted present?

We’ve all been there – a birthday or Christmas rolls around and we excitedly tear into that shiny gift from grandma only to see the 10^th consecutive pair of socks or (god forbid) a Lynx Africa set…

So what do we do with these unwanted gifts?

Do we smile politely then tuck them away into some dark crevice of the house, never to be seen again- or at least until someone is tearing the house apart looking for that ‘vintage’ pair of jeans they refused to part with in the 90s that they swear are worth money now. Do we peel off any incriminating price tags or stickers, re-wrap the gift and tuck it away to be handed to the next unsuspecting soul unlucky enough to have the soonest birthday like some kind of gift-curse?

I am NOT one to shame re-gifters, believe me, I’ve done it one too many times before. I learned the ancient art of re-gifting from my mother, with many nights spent after Christmas or birthdays watching her carefully wrap bottles of perfume she deemed ‘too sickly’ or pairs of pyjamas someone had given her three sizes bigger than she wears. So naturally, re-gifting has never been something I questioned.

I first encountered the seriousness of the re-gifting debate after reading a Good Housekeeping article exploring the shady world of re-gifting and having etiquette experts weigh in on the matter. The article agreed with my point of view, saying that re-gifting is fine so long as you keep the recipients in mind and only re-gift items in a different circle of people and in perfect condition.

An article on Quartz cites the Emily Post Institute on etiquette deems re-gifting as “inherently deceitful” and can only be done if two rules are followed:

1. You avoid deceit and hard feelings
2. You are honest with yourself and others with your intention to re-gift

All of these discussions, while riveting, ignore the obvious solution to ending regifting once and for all – personalised gifts!

With a personalised gift, you are showing the recipient that you truly thought on the person you’re giving the gift to when you were buying it- nothing says ‘this just had your name on it’ more than something with their literal name on it- wake up people! Personalised gifts are timeless, sentimental and (in my opinion) the BEST option, especially when you’re not 100% confident in what the giftee will want.

Regardless of whether you’re buying for your hard-headed dad or a moody teen, something personalised that shows you thought of them in particular when buying their gift is sure to warm their angsty little hearts (even if they don’t show it).

Think of new-born babies- anyone out there who’s had one will know that friends and family absolutely bombard you with cute little outfits and shoes for them, making it impossible for you to actually use everything before they grow out of it- or, even worse, the cute little onesie your great-aunt bought you gets a baptism of fire (or vomit) ten minutes after you dress them up.

To avoid your gift gathering dust laying in a cupboard, never to be worn, why not get them one of our personalised new-born gifts  and ensure they’ll have something to remember for years to come (and also save your gift from suffering a dreaded poop-explosion).

At the end of the day, people are going to re-gift no matter what. You can spend hours searching for the perfect scarf for your mum or relentlessly trudge through the web to find that super-cool-totally-not-cringe gift for your 15 year-old-niece who is absolutely going to find it cringe anyway and they still mightn’t like it. So why not grab a personalised gift they can cherish forever? Okay, the teenager is probably still going to say it’s cringe but trust me they’ll appreciate it when they’re older more than they’ll appreciate that gift card.

Happy Personalising!

Taylor Jones – A Gift of Happiness

New Baby Girl Personalised Name Frame

£59.99

New Baby Boy Personalised Name Frame

£59.99