Given the state of the economy and your bank account, purchasing gifts for certain friends and family may not be possible this holiday season.
But no need to worry if that is your situation. You may have nice but unused gifts stashed around your home. If so, pull them out to do what in the past might have been unthinkable: regift.
More Americans this year are planning on regifting or passing on a gift they got from someone else, according to a Consumer Reports survey on holiday shopping. The poll found that 36% of U.S. adults said they would recycle a gift, compared with 31% last year and 24% in 2007.
There should be no shame in this money saving strategy, says Jodi Newbern, author of "Regifting Revival! A Guide to Reusing Gifts Graciously" (Synergy Books, $16.95). "With resources becoming scarcer and the economy becoming rockier, now is the time for regifting to be resurrected as a wonderful, wise, and responsible way for all of us to fight against the continued waste of unwanted gifts," Newbern writes.
Amen, sister. I've always advocated regifting. So I've chosen Newbern's book for the December pick for the Color of Money Book Club. Newbern has written a fantastic how-to guide that just may win over many opponents of regifting. The glossy 161-page book is part persuasion, part regift manual. She promises -- and delivers -- a "definitive source for all things regiftable."
Cate Williams, vice president of financial literacy for Money Management International, a nonprofit credit-counseling agency, notes that regifting is becoming a phenomenon. "Instead of going broke this holiday season, consumers should consider bringing unused gifts out of the supply closet," she said.
MMI has even created a Web site that provides a forum for fans and foes of the practice. For the third year, MMI is soliciting regifting stories -- good and bad -- on the site (www.regiftable.com). The contest, which has prizes valued up to $500, ends on Dec. 31.
After reading the entries posted so far, there are definitely a lot of people who need to read Newbern's book.
For the novice regifter, Newbern provides a handy template for a gift inventory log. The biggest "don't" in regifting is giving a gift back to someone who gave it to you.
For the regift pro, "Regifting Revival" may provide you with some new techniques. For example, I love the sample regift receipt (similar to a return receipt). In part, the receipt says: "This (Re) Gift Receipt has been given to you, along with your gift, to allow you the option to graciously regift this to anyone else, should you choose to do so, for any reason whatsoever, without guilt or shame."
Opponents of regifting often argue that it is inconsiderate or insulting to recycle a gift. That can be true. But does something have to be newly purchased to be appropriate and appreciated? If your intentions are good and you do this right, you can graciously regift without any hurt feelings. Just follow Newbern's No. 1 rule of regifting: "Almost any gift can be regifted, but not all gifts can be regifted in just any way."
It's easy to be a member of the Color of Money Book Club. We don't meet -- at least not in person. We come together for a live online discussion. Join me at noon Dec. 17 at www.washingtonpost.com/discussions. Newbern will be my guest.
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