Don't regift unless you know the 4 rules of regifting

The hottest trend in gift giving these days? It's "regifting:"  Taking a gift someone gave you, re-wrapping it, and handing it to someone else.

It can be fine, as long as you know the rules.

Use Caution When  Passing Along Gift

AOL Daily Finance says you need to be careful. That's because you don't want to get caught regifting, which is what happened back in 1995 when the term "regifting" was born on the TV show Seinfeld.

(For the record, Elaine accuses Jerry of being a "regifter," when she discovers a gift was a hand-me-down)

Daily Finance's four rules for regifting:

    1. Make sure the item is unopened, with no seals broken.

    2. Double check for personal names, initials, or monograms, a red flag of a hand-me-down.

    3. Be sure to wrap it in fresh paper, so it looks as thought you bought it and wrapped it lovingly.  Never just re-tape the old wrapping paper.

Doesn't that Stink?

And from the Doesn't that Stink file, avoiding what Daily Finance calls the "Seinfeld scenario."

That's when you accidentally give it it to someone in the same social circle, so they find out. You'll say "doesn't that stink?"

So the most important rule of all:

     4. It's best to give that secondhand gift to someone on the other side of your family, or someone who doesn't know the original gifter. In other words, if it is from work, never regift to anyone connected with your job or employer.

Bottom line: There is nothing wrong with regifting, as long as you are careful, and don't do anything that embarrasses you or the person who gave it to you.

And that way you don't waste your money.   

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