Both the regifted and the regifted can experience a Fear of Regifting. Roles can also overlap when someone gives a gift to someone they initially received the gift from. This pseudo-swap creates a perfectly awkward circle of gift exchange. Receiving a gift you know you don’t want and need to pawn off on someone else can be a nerve-racking and tense situation. When you are in the midst of said pawning, you can only hope you removed the gift receipt containing the purchase date. Or removed the previously hand-written note on the gift bag displaying the item was clearly meant for someone else. Fear of Regifting is truly the gift that keeps on giving.
Getting the Most Return Out of Your Fear of Regifting
The holiday season is a great time to see family or going on a planned vacation to escape having to see family. The holiday season is also a great time for spending way too much money on things you definitely don’t need but feel compelled to buy more than one of. The latter usually leads to starting the chain of regifting. For example, you are perusing the depths of Amazon and discover a book you simply cannot resist. (Wait. Bad example. Everyone should buy their own copy of that). For a better example, you recently received a bottle of wine from a company that doesn’t make their product from grapes. Now you have some options to consider!
Smiling politely at the stranger who handed you the gift, your eyes are looking around the room for someone you can give it to next year. Once the fake wine has had enough time to properly age, of course. Over the next several years, that bottle will successfully make its way into the homes of several people who eagerly await the next season of giving so they can rid themselves of it. It’s sort of like making a decent movie about a poltergeist taking control of a doll. You know?
Exchange Your Fear of Regifting
Regifting is like playing an unwanted game of Secret Santa or Yankee Swap (or White Elephant or whatever you want to call it). Instead of getting something cool, you are getting rid of something you loathe entirely. Nothing brings people together more than exchanging unwanted garbage. Therein lies the very essence of having a Fear of Regifting. Knowing you have to hold onto that garbage until an appropriate time in order to give it away to someone else. It’s important to keep track of where the gift originated to avoid giving it to someone who has already had to slyly pass it off to another person.
A single bad gift might change hands four or five times. For this reason, it is important to follow the path of that gift as if you were getting hustled in a game of street-monty. Where’s the gift? Who has it? Was this your card? Speaking of cards, the only thing worse is people who just get you a single gift card for a place only they shop at.
Do you know the struggles of having a Fear of Regifting? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram or by sending us an email! It is guaranteed at least the subject line of your message will be read. Every time.