Do You Re-gift?

Sounds like you did a good job of re-gifting... appropriately for those who could actually use it.
That's fine!

I'm of the strong opinon that it is wrong on many levels to throw something away instead of passing it on to someone who will truly enjoy it.

If nothing else, donate it to charity. The landfills are full enough.

In the case of the gift card, it was OK to let the giver know since you couldn't possibly use it, but in general I think re-gifting should be done very quietly.

Yes - I re-gift when appropriate/necessary. I know a lot of people that do! When my daughter receives toys for birthdays/holiday, we don't open them all at once. If we don't use them we re-gift or donate to Toys for Tots. Why toss out a perfectly good item?

i have re-gifted and i know i've BEEN regifted.
who cares?
isn't it all about the thought anyway?

Yes I have re-gifted when I'm 100% sure that person I am giving the re-gift to wasn't the one that gave it to me in the first place =-)

If I already have what the person gave me, instead of exchaning or re-gifting, I tend to give it to charity more often than re-gifting.

Re-gifting is very common.

I didn't read your whole question. I do re-gift. I make sure the item is still sealed. We get so many kids presents its just too much stuff.
I even purchase brand new items at garage sales and gift them.

I don't and won't re-gift a gift HOWEVER, if I receive something I cannot use I think about someone who might appreciate that item and I just give it to them but not as a birthday, Christmas, etc gift. If I don't have anyone to give the item to, I use it in my donations either to Goodwill or the Women's Shelter.

I am not saying re-gifting is bad..... I konw a lot of people do it, especially in today's economy........ It is just not what I would do.

I have regifted on a few occassions. I received a Dunkin Donuts gift card as a thank you, I don't drink coffee, so I regifted to a teacher I know goes there. I regifted a set of dipping sauces and bowls I got at a grab bag to some friends who I know use it all the time.

Mostly if I get something I won't use or isn't my taste I'll donate it.

Yes, regift to right person. It used to "tacky", times have changed and we reuse and recycle. If you can't use it, someone else can. It is being green. If your MIL has extra money she should put your kids college savings or to charity, instead of throwing out gifts.

Simply said, yes I do. I do however donate the trinket-like and cheaper items to a charitable organization.

I was at Dillard's the other day purchasing a wedding gift. I had a small amount left on a Dillard's gift card that I had received as a gift. I used the remaining balance on this card to help purchase this gift. I don't see a problem with this situation either, as I'm sure to be at Dillard's again and they will get my money one way or the other!

heck yeah..sometimes we get such weird stuff and I have a friend who is into unique things so why not? who knows maybe the gifts you received were regifts also. someone will use it.

Absolutely I re-gift! I do not re-gift tacky or cliche gifts (Dollar store candles or Dove lotion sets), those go to the donation pile. But, if I feel it is something that another may enjoy, I definitely send it their way. You are right, it would be a waste to throw it away, not to mention something else to go into the landfill - now that is a waste! I just make sure I don't re-gift it to the person that gave it to me in the first place :)

Yep. Absolutely. I make sure not to send the same thing back, but I regift all the time. In fact, my mum has something she calls the "gift locker". She buys things all the time on sale, and puts them in there, along with certain things people have given her that she won't be able to use (she tapes a tag on them with who they came from). We don't have the space for such a thing, but I'd like one.

Non-tacky re-gifting is A-ok!

All the time...I have never thought of it as being wrong

I re-gift also. I make sure it's not old so it'll get stale etc. but I don't see anything wrong with it. One time I got duplicates for my wedding and I re-gifted one of them to my sister. I didn't realize that someone stuck the wedding card inside the box so my sister got my wedding card too...LOL We all laughed at that one!

Totally. In my opinion, once an item is given to you, you are free to do what you want with it. (Within reason, of course... I don't think the same holds for heirloom items or the like.) I re-gift, donate to one of my church's ministries or to the Salvation Army; I have even sold stuff on eBay. As long as it's done tactfully and with respect there is nothing wrong with re-gifting. Also there are times when it's nice to hold onto something because it will make the giver feel good... like the doilies my MIL gave me several years ago that I only take out when she's going to be around.

I definitely re- gift. The only problem is when the person I give it to asks for a gift receipt.... That's when I find myself in a jam.

I was re-gifting before it was even thought about or named. I hate to throw anything away that someone else would like or enjoy. I have also given away but not called it re-gifting things that were given to me that I was allergic to the scent or broke out in hives after using by asking someone who had made a comment on how they would like the item if they would like it and let them know I have only used it once.

My friends also know that the gift bag they get has been around the block a time or two and that if they are going to throw it away and not save it to just take the gift and give me back the bag. I will even gather up bags at other parties that people are going to throw away after asking if it is okay and take them home to use. My friends and co-workers just laugh but they know if they don't have the money for a gift bag or the store is closed I will have one that will work.

YES as long as certain rules of respect for yourself as well as the recipient. Never give anything that been opened or used. You can give that away at a later time but never pretend its a present, you have to upfront about that. Also, if it is a horrible present (cheap, ugly, ect) then do not re-gift unless you are absolutely certain that the other person will like it. To me, a present is more a reflection of the gift giver than the recipient. You don't want to make yourself look bad. Also, never give the person that gave you the present the same present back. Sounds like you follow those rules and I think your MIL is being very wasteful and closeminded.

Yes I do lol! My mom had bought me some christmas jewlery 2 years ago! She buys on sale and had bought it the year before and was short a few gifts for me, but really? She knows what I like and dont and yet she still did... worked out great for me bc it saved me plenty of time and shopping (when I knew the people would like it). Whats bad is when my mom re gifted a gift I had given her to me!!!! She had been telling me how much she liked it and so I bought it one day for her birthday (Sept) and in dec I got it back as a christmas gift... I was so mad, but said um hey mom did you accidently put this in your gift pile? She asked why and I said bc I gave it to you for your birthday (she tried to say she had bought it for me, but I had caught her and she said sorry... I had spent a pretty penny on it and couldnt return it. Oh well :)

Yep, I do. I don't think it is a problem, and this is why. When I am giving someone a gift, I spend a lot of time thinking about what they would like or what they could use, or what they would never buy for themselves. If I just happen to have a gift that someone gave me that I didn't want, can't use, etc., but that would be perfect for someone else, why not give it to them? It's not something I do to be cheap, or to avoid the thought that should go into a gift. For example, I received a book as a gift. It was a brand new hardback biography that was popular and supposed to be excellent, but I was not interested in reading it. I had, however been looking at that exact title as a gift for my m-i-l, who loves biographies and whose birthday is the week after mine. Perfect.
I think that as long as the gift is given with the right spirit it doesn't matter where the item came from.

Yes, I re-gift. So does everyone in my family that I know of! And I would hope that your MIL would not "throw away" something but rather give it to Goodwill or donate it somewhere else. If she throws away a gift that someone gave her I think that is disrespectful to that person and in poor taste much more so than the act of re-giving it to someone else who may like it or use it. If it just goes in the trash, what does that say? I would much rather have it go to someone who could use it or give it to someone else who could than just throw it out.

sure do, and for all the same things that you do. I see nothing wrong w/ it if you think they will like it and you just dont.

Yes, yes I do. I'm not ashamed. :)

Good for you!!! I have regifted for years!! I see nothing wrong with it. I have re-gifted many items. I have a special shelve of things I can give as gifts!! I will also buy brand new items as a second hand shop. Things that are new and I will gift those as well. I save a lot doing this. I buy items at the end of the year for next year and gift those too!!

heck to the yes, I do! my son is 3, and I just ran out of baby stuff he got that I never used that people gave me. One time it did bite me in the butt, though. My step-mom gave me a cd, and I brought it to a gift exchange at church as an extra just in case someone forgot theirs... and my step-mom ended up with it. haha I know I was all shades of red, but she just laughed. :)

If I get something good, but it is not something I will use, I definately re-gift. Obviously nothing used or opened. But I recieve lots of wonderful things that I just don't use...mainly candles and body products that I will sned along to someone else. You just have to make sure the gift lines never cross.........

Yes, I do! I think it is perfectly fine. I think it is totally wasteful to let it sit there and never get any use, or use it without any care, and definitely unacceptable to throw it away. I think re-gifting is great because it helps you out financially, and not to mention giving someone the chance to use the gift in a way that doesn't waste the money that was spent on it. Re-gifting is a thumbs up for me!

I've done it and I don't see anything wrong with it as long as it's not opened or used and it's something that you genuinely think the recipient can use and/or will like.

My husband and I don't drink and every year at Christmas time he comes home with at least 3 bottles of wine. They all get regifted for one occasion or another.

Good luck,
K.

Very seldom. I don't have time to keep track of what was received by whom.

I tend to donate to charities or give to our kid's day care (toys especially) if we're not going to use it.

But, my family stopped giving Christmas/birthday gifts a long time ago. Not everyone had the money, and people were spending it just to give a gift. Eventually, we learned that gifts are generally quite unnecessary compared to spending time with people.

If someone gives us something, we are very gracious in accepting, and then make a decision regarding keeping or donating. To my knowledge, I've only regifted 1 pair of shoes that was given to us for our daughter's 1st birthday. Her feet are so wide, she could never fit in them. It's more that I don't think about it than anything else.

However, all your examples seem completely reasonable!

You're awesome and you're very economical. Yes we re-gift. I actually have a shirt that says "Regift Responsibly" with a recycling symbol on it. Got it at Target a few years ago.

I just re-gifted a baby item too. My son got a PINK Seahorse bedtime glowing toy. PINK! Our friend pregnant with a girl had the seahorse on her registry even - so she got it yesterday in the mail and is thrilled.

My mom would probably say it's tacky too. Just make sure you 'regift responsibly' so someone who gets the gift never runs into the person who gave it to you. Otherwise you may be very embarassed or have some explaining to do! :)

I am totally onboard with what you are doing. I hate wastefulness.
Victoria

ABSOLUTELY. There is no reason to waste.

As a last resort to regifting - that is, if I can't find someone to regift something to, naturally, I donate it to a shelter, or something... but I definitely try to regift things I can't or won't use for whatever reason.

My friend got on to me because I was going to use a gift card that I received months ago to buy a birthday present for someone else. I told him I didn't want to buy anything for myself and I didn't want the card to go to waste so why not. Jury is still out on that one I guess =)

Oh, I totally re-gift. I have family out of state that I only see a couple times a year, so I get gifts from all kinds of people and many of them are things we would never want or use. A lot of the time I think "Do these people know me at ALL??" Since our tastes are so vastly different, I have no problem re-distributing gifts to people when I think they would like something. Because, honestly, I see these people so rarely that I don't really know what they want or need or would like.

Also, some of the people I see more often have tastes so different from mine that I'm just guessing when I buy them something anyway, so why not re-gift? And often I actually get things and think of someone else who really might actually like it, so I'll hold onto it for them.

The important thing is to re-gift to people who don't know or will never see the original givers, like from in-laws to work friends or out of state family. I would tape a note to a gift to remind you who gave it to you so you can re-gift it to someone in a different group.

Happy re-gifting!!

Yes ma'am I do regift!! I do label things now who I receive them from like another poster mentioned. I had a TOTAL OOPS re-gifting situation once. I regifted a bottle of wine (we don't like red wine) to my husband's aunt that she had given us. I totally didn't remember it came from her. Luckily, I was quick on my feet with this one and told her we loved it so much and thought she would really enjoy it too...worked out great because it was actually her favorite wine that's why she had originally given it to us to try...except now she does give it to us as a gift on occassion because she thinks we like it...oh well as long what could have been extremely embarrasing OOPS was avoided...we just re-gift the wine to others, just not to her or family! ;-)