Blogworld tips for shedding unwanted gifts

It’s Christmas Day, and we all know what that means: Time to think about regifting and returning those odd-sized, duplicated, outmoded, tasteless and otherwise unwanted presents.

Some readers may protest they’d never pass along a gift intended for them to someone else, but a recent Harris Interactive poll of 1,505 Americans suggests there’s a 52 percent chance those readers are lying. (I’m not referring to you, of course.)

The regifting trend has even spawned its own Web site, Regiftable.com. For a blog chronicling the exploits of more than 550 regifters and regiftees, click on the “Regifting Stories” link.

Some of the tales are horrifying, such as the one about a woman who received a book on being a better wife from her mother-in-law — and then passed it down to her own daughter-in-law, original inscription intact. Other stories rise almost to the level of divine inspiration, like this gem:

“My wife wanted an ice cream maker for her birthday. The going rate in a catalog was $50-$100. I found the same identical item on eBay for $1 in New In The Box condition. Upon receiving the shipment I opened the box to find the product already wrapped! … Being frugal and liking the paper it was already wrapped in I put a tag on it and gave it to my wife.”

Of course, Mr. Smug included enough personally identifiable information to ensure someone will tip off his wife to his cheap and lazy ways. Maybe she’ll post the divorce decree on Regiftable. (But your secret’s safe with me, Richard T. of Amherst.)

Future regifters might avoid Dick’s sad fate by taking the following bloggy advice:

•”Obviously, you want to be aware of who gave you the gift. My solution is a Post-It note stuck somewhere on the gift with the person’s name… This really helps relieve the anxiety of regifting to the wrong person.” (MotherLoad)

•”If you giggled and/or gagged when you got the gift: Don’t regift it. Well, you ask, am I to throw it away? A perfectly intact one-eyed camel sculpture? (Seriously, I’ve actually received one.) How about donating to charity?” (Perpetually Befuddled)

•”Make sure you know what’s in the box. You may get a present that has a Crock-Pot on the box, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a Crock-Pot inside. Some people simply reuse boxes.” (Thifty Mommy)

•”Rewrap. Refreshen. Make the decorations your own before passing it on.” (The Frugal Duchess)

•”Don’t give it away if you’ve already used it. The only exception is when the item is still in pristine condition after a single use. In my book, pristine means almost perfect, never washed or otherwise cleaned (but still remains clean). The single very light use of a handbag, sweater/coat (as long as something was worn underneath), or an electrical item (running for a very, very short amount of time for testing) would fit the bill.” (Hot Off the Sales Rack)

•”Make sure there is no chance the person that gave you the gift, and the person that you regift to, (will) ever meet each other. You don’t want to have a Christmas party next year and have one show up wearing the stupid tie Aunt Betty gave you if Aunt Betty will be at that party.” (Old Hippie)

•”Taking time to regift an item is tedious. … Sell it on eBay to someone who really wants it and they’ll give you money in return!” (Blog on a Stick)

•”If you have given your soul to a life partner, paramour, spouse, or Lucifer, it is non-returnable. It cannot be regifted. (The important precedent for this rule was set in the groundbreaking case, Homer Simpson vs. the Devil.) (Gideon’s Trumpet)

Everything else, however, is fair game.