Regift

Regifting 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. One example of a formalization of this activity are the white elephant gift exchanges, in which items can be regifted from year to year.

The term originated on an episode of the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld" ("The Label Maker"). [ [http://www.macmillandictionary.com/New-Words/041220-regifting.htm "Word of the Week"] , by Kerry Maxwell, "MacMillian English Dictionary". Retrieved April 17, 2007.] 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, although the practice pre-dates the term substantially.

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. [ [http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/12RulesForRegiftingWithoutFear.aspx 12 rules for 'regifting' without fear] , by MP Dunleavey, "MSN Money". Retrieved April 17, 2007] However, a consumer survey indicated that a majority of people regift because they perceive the gift will be appreciated by the receiver, a slight majority said that they don't find regifting rude, and a significant number do so to save money.* [http://www.regiftable.com/About/SurveyResults2005.aspx MMI Holiday Credit Card Use Survery Summary] 2005, retrieved 2007-Apr-21.]

Money Management International has named the Thursday before Christmas "National Regifting Day."* [http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/071219/20071219006083.html?.v=1] ]

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

Media references

* On "The Tonight Show", Johnny Carson would frequently joke about the single Christmas fruitcake that was given from one person to another, year after year.
* "The Rush Limbaugh Show" had a mock advertisement for a fictitious company called "Thanks Anyway." The premise was that a person could bring unwanted gifts to their local Thanks Anyway store to have the gift packaged and re-wrapped to give to someone else.
* One of the recurring jokes in "Old School" involved Will Ferrell's character Frank attempting to regift a bread machine he received from Mitch as a wedding present.

Footnotes

See also

*Regiving

External links

* [http://www.nationalregiftingday.com/ "National Regifting Day"]
* [http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/01/pf/saving/willis_tips/ "CNN Money": Regifting 101]
* [http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P86207.asp? "MSN Money": 12 rules for 'regifting' without fear]
* [http://www.usaweekend.com/06_issues/061126/061126regifting.html "USA Weekend": Regifting takes over the galaxy]
* [http://www.regiftable.com/Regifting101/Default.aspx "Regifting 101"]