With all the holiday festivities occurring, including the famous gift giving tradition, you begin to wonder and ponder what gifts you may receive this holiday year. You find yourself caught between the two major controversial questions: Will I get the gift I wanted or will I get a not-so liked gift?

Now, you get the gift you wanted. Yeah, great but keep in mind that you are the minority since it probably happens 10%- 15% of the time, unless you created a list which in that case; good job! With all the stress spurring around the holiday you might be busy and forget. On the other hand, now you received the worst gift ever imagined, nothing of your liking, well here’s the solution. Be thankful for the great, resourceful concept of regifting.

Regifting your unwanted gift may brighten the smile of another and save you a couple bucks. Hey, you are just being resourceful and not wasteful. Regifting can be tricky at times though, so to help you out here and save you from some possibly embarrassing situations, here are some helpful rules of regifting:

1) The product should be new and/or unopened.

If you do not want someone to know you are regifting and want him to believe you spent your own valuable time, night and day, looking for the perfect gift, then I suggest giving a gift that is unopened or new… ish. For example: If you received a perfume and took the packaging off, do not give it to another person. Unless you have some lame excuse such as my dog bit it off or if you go to extreme measures you can buy plastic and rewrap the packaging.

2) The gift should be unwrapped and rewrapped for the person.

You do not want the person to whom you are giving the gift, to find a card written from your grandma stating, “To Linda, my favorite grandchild,” when your friend’s name is Maddie and she does not have a grandma. This situation can be slightly mortifying, especially if your friend does not take it well. To avoid this awkward situation just take a few minutes out of your schedule to rewrap and get rid of any old cards.

3) Avoid regifting where worlds can collide.

This basically explains how it is a small world in which we live so be careful to whom you give your gift. Not executing this plan effectively can result in the worst situation, possibly resulting in some conflicting relationships. If the original gifter and the new recipient roll in the same social circles its best to avoid the headache and painful explaining you must do; just be careful. For example, do not give your cousin the sweater you did not want from your grandma. Chances are at some lovely family get together, your cousin is wearing the sweater and grandma has spotted this regifting scheme you have committed. This results in some explaining, guilt, and an uncomfortable situation.

The last rule may make regifting something that has to be executed stealthily, but that is not always the case. Depending on the person to whom you are giving the gift you may want to spill the beans and let them in on your little secret. Keep in mind though, you might not want to let them know if you are regifting for their birthday, since this is a more personal holiday. Keep in mind these rules when deciding to regift and you will be off to a good start.