To Regift or Not to Regift

Published by

Clare Whitfield

Last Updated

December 13, 2025

To Regift or Not to Regift….that is the question! I’m afraid to admit it but I re-gift often. I have a whole section in a cupboard dedicated to the re-gift.� Just in case you don’t know, a re-gift is when you receive a gift either for you or your family, and you either:

Have the item already and have no use for another one
It’s not your colour or size or won’t suit your lifestyle
It is so hideous and disgusting you just cannot live with it in your house

Re-gifting is a perfectly sensible way to save money.� If you have no use for it, isn’t it better off with someone who will enjoy it more? Buying presents can be a very expensive exercise and lets face it, there’s nothing wrong with being frugal and showing initiative, right?

There is etiquette for the re-gift. No matter what the situation (giving or receiving), it is always polite to originally accept the gift graciously. Now’s not the time to blurt out ‘Grandma you bought me size 20 knickers, I’m only a size 10’ or ‘Hey, I’ve seen these on special, buy one get one free, right?’ or, my personal childhood pearler, “Mum’s got that one already!’

Next, have a special spot somewhere in your house to stash it.� Make sure you write a little note (and stick it to the gift) stipulating�who gave it to you and the occasion. This is very important; giving someone back a gift they gave you in the first place is never a comfortable situation.

Lastly, put a bit of thought into the regift. Really consider whether the recipient will enjoy what you are passing on. �If time goes on and you can’t get rid of a particular gift for whatever reason, perhaps consider donating it to charity.

Do you regift? Have you received an obvious regift? Have you ever been given a gift you gave to someone else?

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

See Full Bio

Share the post

Discover more from Stay at Home Mum

Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email

Responses to “To Regift or Not to Regift”

Karina

July 17, 2011

I believe in re-gifting but I label it so as not to return it to the person who gave it to me. I usual regift as a thank you present instead of buying chocolates etc or as a secret santa gift at work.

Reply
Renees Ramblings

July 17, 2011

I often re-gift pressies given to my kids – they often get doubles of things, so we hold onto the double and put it in the present box. My kids can then exchange for something else in the present box. And yes, I too put a note on the gift so that we don’t give it back to the giver!

Reply
Mythica

July 17, 2011

I rarely get gifts I don’t have a use for, but my Mum does, she’s a teacher and to top it off she’s allergic to anything with a perfume….and what are the classic gifts for a teacher? Soaps, talcs, etc. And Chocolate – and unfortunately, Mum and I are similar in that we only need to look at Chocolate and we put on a kilo. She takes the chocolate to work Christmas parties or family do’s, and everything else she keeps in a box to re-gift because she’s unable to use it herself.

Reply
rowdy01-02

July 18, 2011

I appreciate your view. I have been unsettled over the years as to what I thought of this practise of regifting. I once saw an episode of Oprah where they discussed the same topic. It changed my mind entirely. The person who was being interviewed (some etiquite queen) said that if you want to pass on the gift that has been given to you (that you no longer want) then do so, but do not pretend it is something it is not. ie: do not pretend you bought it especially for them when you didn’t. She suggested that instead of re-wrapping it.. just ‘give’ it away and be honest…. “I was given this (say… choc fondue set).. I have no use for it.. but I know you love your chocolate and I thought you might like it” I like the honesty factor. The person will still appreciate it… they will be glad to receive something that they love… but it is being completely honest with them. I like it. I feel more settled with this approach as it eliminates the sneakiness element I have always felt rewrapping. I know everyone is different and every gift is different… so it probably depends on the circumstance. Just my view. I love your articles… keep up the great work. N

Reply
Lettiegirl

August 2, 2011

If you don’t like/aren’t going to use the gift than regifting is a great way to save money and not waste something. So long as you don’t give it back to the person who gave it to you, or anyone close to them. It’s also important that you honestly think someone else would like the gift.

Reply
donco

September 18, 2011

I confess to being a re-gifter. When my husband and I married 15 years ago, we were given a lot of beautiful things that we were never going to use (seven chip and dip plates to start off with – and we dislike entertaining!!!). We put a small note on them saying who they were from, and over the years have re-gifted them to other friends who will use them, as opposed to them sitting in my shed getting dusty. As children came along, some gifts, though lovely, were not suitable to have around kids – one poisonous plant and one very prickly plant (I have three adventurous children), beautiful vases/ornaments etc… I would have loved to have kept them until the kids were older, but we have 5 people living in a small 2 bedroom workers cottage, so there isn’t much room! That is one trade off for me being a SAHM – a small house = smaller mortgage, so I don’t need to work as long as we are careful with money.
My children also regift. They have been taught to accept all presents gratefully with a thank you and a smile, even if they already have it or do not particularly like it. However, they can then choose to give it away (to a friend or charity), or give it as a present to someone who would like it.
I see no harm in re-gifting. In the throw away world we have, I would rather re-give something lovely to someone who will love it and use it, than let it sit in my shed or be thrown out. As long as thanks are given for the gift when received initially and the re-gifting is done sensitively, I think it can be a great way of ‘recycling’ and saving money.

Reply
Laura

September 19, 2011

I was never a fan of regifting until for my engagement we got 11 platers, 3 slow cookers and 2 knife blocks! I am very careful about it if I do regift as for our engagement we were given a lovely clock from some friends complete with the “on your wedding” card written to them from on of their relatives that had been left in the box!
Generally if I do regift I will buy something new to go along with it (e.g. a slow cooker cook book to go with a slow cooker).
Having just had baby #2 I have got quite a collection of baby bits a pieces ready to go in the bottom of my wardrobe (I have had 2 big babies and have been given stacks of 5×0’s and 4×0’s stuff that was never going to fit). I have decided though that if it is all still there in 6mths time I will take it up to the materinty ward and ask the midwives to just give it to the next mother who needs it 🙂

Reply