I know when you’ve re-gifted something, so why not come clean about it?

Hey if you don’t notice me around or replying/approving comments in a timely manner, it’s because I’m on a mini digital break 🙂 Chilling out until January.

Even though we don’t have a tradition of giving gifts to each other, this Christmas a friend of mine turned to me and said: OH YEAH! I have something for you!

Me: What?….. *thinking: Crap. I didn’t buy anything. We don’t have a tradition. Now WTF do I do?*

Friend: Here. I just bought this sweater thinking of you, I hope you like it.

Girl hands me a plastic grocery bag with the sweater in it.

Me: *opens the plastic grocery bag* Oh! Wow! It’s nice! Thanks! You didn’t have to do this!!!!!!!!!

NOTE:

Okay I admit it. I faked a little too much !!! in my response.

I’m not trying to be rude or to look the gift horse in the mouth but I don’t like clothing or jewelery as gifts because it rarely turns out well unless they REALLY know my taste.

Even with my mom, it’s a 50/50 hit and miss, because she chooses odd colours or things that are too frilly. I love her dearly but we are very different in clothing style and taste.

I’d rather not get anything at all, but I appreciate the sentiment behind giving me something.

We also have similar colouring and taste in colour preferences, so this was a VERY odd gift of mismatched tastes, so this sweater was from Banana Republic, in a weird oatmeal colour that doesn’t look good on anyone unless you have very specific colouring was a very odd gift.

When I got home with my new BR sweater, tags still on it, and I realized a few of things:

  1. It is too large for me. We’re also about the same size.
  2. It is too itchy for me. I have eczema so I avoid anything that makes me scratch.
  3. Tag still on it, but it was clearly not their current line-up (I shop at BR)
  4. IT SMELLED STANK LIKE MOTHBALLS — it was like they made love to that sweater.

I am not talking like a light hint of it, I am talking FULL ON, I can’t smell it without gagging mothballs.

Then I recounted what she told me about “just buying it”, and realized that she was just given it as a gift, so she re-gifted it to me.

It was either that, or she got it a while back as a gift, threw it at the back of her closet, cleaned out her closet later and thought: Who could I give this to?

Nice.

Look, if it was something I’d wear, and something SHE’D wear, why not? I don’t mind re-gifting, it’s a nice gesture that helps the environment and passes the love along. A person’s trash is another’s treasure.

But do NOT give something you KNOW is a bad gift, and isn’t flattering, useful or any of the above.

She definitely would not have worn it, which is why she gave it to me.

But I was suspicious of the whole sentiment to begin with because we’ve never gifted anything to each other in our lives.

So for everyone out there thinking of re-gifting next year, you better be darn sure the person can’t tell or at least tell them “I can’t use this, but I thought you might like it.

Come clean, and at the very least, keep it mothball-free.

Over and out.

Have you ever caught someone red-handed? 🙂 Or have been caught, yourself?

EXTRA READING

About the Author

Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver. I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year. Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about my story here, or visit my other blog: The Everyday Minimalist.