Regifting or regiving is the act of taking a gift that has been received and giving it to somebody else, sometimes in the guise of a new gift.^[1] One example of a formalization of this activity are the white elephant gift exchanges, in which items can be regifted from year to year.

Wilmington's mayor, Don Betz, admits that he's a regifter, lured to the dark side of gift-giving by a sister in New York who sends bright, flashy polyester shirts every year. 'I'd never wear them,' Mr. Betz said. 'I try to give them to someone who can use them.'

– Mayor Don Betz, December 1995, Wilmington Star-News^[2]

In the USA, "National Regifting Day" is defined as December 18th.^[3] In Canada, eBay marketed "National Re-gifting Week" as December 26th-30th (December 26 being Boxing Day, a time traditionally associated with gift-giving).^[4]

Regiving differs from straightforward giving in that goods are not acquired specifically for donation. Typically, goods that have been received as a gift are offered to others, unbeknown to them that it was originally a gift to the person offering it.(regifting)^[5] Often the motives are principally charitable but also includes giving items which are surplus to one's needs.

Regiving differs from recycling in that recycling is most often associated with breaking components down and rebuilding into new products.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Origin of the term 2 Etiquette 3 References 4 Further Reading 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Origin of the term

The term originated on an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld ("The Label Maker"), although the practice pre-dates the term substantially.^[6][7][8] In the episode, the character Elaine calls Dr. Tim Whatley a "regifter" after he gives Jerry Seinfeld a label-maker that was originally given to Whatley by Elaine.

Another variant introduced in Seinfeld is degifting (see Indian giver), which refers to the act of demanding a gift back from the receiver.

[edit] Etiquette

Several rules of etiquette are proposed in popular media regarding regifting; they include rewrapping the gift, not using the gift before regifting it, and not giving the gift back to the original gift-giver.^[9][10]

Regifting has become a popular addition to many white elephant gift exchanges or yankee swap events. There are no rules that specifically prohibit or encourage the practice of regifting at these parties, but generally the host of the party suggests regifting if it is an option. However, if the host suggests a spending limit for the party, it is generally poor etiquette to regift in lieu of making a purchase. The online variations of these exchanges eliminate this situation through their online purchasing requirements.

[edit] References

1. ^ Chartrand, Sabra (2003-12-08). "Patents; How to send an unwanted present on its merry way, online and untouched". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E4D7103DF93BA35751C1A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-02-06. "It is called a regift, and lots of people do it." 
2. ^ Maile Carpenter (1995-12-03). "The Gift You Keep On Giving". Wilmington Star-News (Wilmington, NC). p. 1D. 
3. ^ Jennifer Brett (2008-12-02). "The Social Butterfly; Do you regift? Get ready for National Regifting Day!". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The official holiday was created three years ago by a debt-counseling group called Money Management International as a way of espousing recycling and avoiding debt." 
4. ^ Roy Clancy (2007-12-27). "'re-gifting' trend hits a new low". The Daily Herald-Tribune. "In the 'spirit of giving and regiving', eBay Canada is offering five free listings to each of its users during its 'National Re-Gifting Week', Dec. 26 to Dec. 30." 
5. ^ Jennifer Blake (2008-12-14). "The spirit of re-giving". Meadow Lake Progress (Saskatchewan, Canada). 
6. ^ "Word of the Week", by Kerry Maxwell, MacMillian English Dictionary. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
7. ^ Cynthia Hubert (2006-12-10). "'Tis better to regift than to receive; Once parodied in a 'Seinfeld' episode, it's now acceptable to foist your unwanted presents on someone else". Sacramento Bee (California). 
8. ^ Chris Ayres (2006-12-26). "With regifting, that awful present is just for Christmas, not for life". London: The Times. p. 42. 
9. ^ 12 rules for 'regifting' without fear, by MP Dunleavey, MSN Money. Retrieved April 17, 2007
10. ^ Bruce Weinstein (2007-12-23). "Holiday ethics: How to tactfully regift it". Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA). p. E14. 

[edit] Further Reading

• The Art of Regifting: Your ABC's Guide to Regifting, the Do's and Don'ts, Urban Legends and Folk Lore. Outskirts Press. 2006. ISBN 1598003143. 
• Excuse Me, But I Was Next: How to Handle 100 Modern-day Manners Dilemmas Including Rude E-mails, Regifting, Double Dipping and Cell Yelling. Harper Collins. 2006. ISBN 0060889160. 

[edit] See also

• Give-away shop

[edit] External links

Look up regift in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• CNN Money: Regifting 101
• MSN Money: 12 rules for 'regifting' without fear
• USA Weekend: Regifting takes over the galaxy