Regift
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Regifting or regiving 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. In the UK the term for an unwanted gift that is passed around a social group is a "Matham".[1] One example of a formalization of this activity are the white elephant gift exchanges, in which items can be regifted from year to year.
Wilmington's mayor, Don Betz, admits that he's a regifter, lured to the dark side of gift-giving by a sister in New York who sends bright, flashy polyester shirts every year. 'I'd never wear them,' Mr. Betz said. 'I try to give them to someone who can use them.'– Mayor Don Betz, December 1995, Wilmington Star-News[2]
In the USA, "National Regifting Day" is defined as December 18.[3] In Canada, eBay marketed "National Re-gifting Week" as December 26-30 (December 26 being Boxing Day, a time traditionally associated with gift-giving).[4]
Regiving differs from straightforward giving in that goods are not acquired specifically for donation. Typically, goods that have been received as a gift are offered to others, unbeknown to them that it was originally a gift to the person offering it.[5] Often the motives are principally charitable but also includes giving items which are surplus to one's needs.
Regiving differs from recycling in that recycling is most often associated with breaking components down and rebuilding into new products.
Origin of the term
The term was popularized by an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld ("The Label Maker"), although the practice pre-dates the term substantially.[6][7][8] 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.
Another variant introduced in Seinfeld is degifting (see Indian giver), which refers to the act of demanding a gift back from the receiver.
[edit]Etiquette
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.[9][10]
Regifting has become a popular addition to many white elephant gift exchanges or yankee swap events. There are no rules that specifically prohibit or encourage the practice of regifting at these parties, but generally the host of the party suggests regifting if it is an option. However, if the host suggests a spending limit for the party, it is generally poor etiquette to regift in lieu of making a purchase. The online variations of these exchanges eliminate this situation through their online purchasing requirements.
A variant of regifting was mentioned as one of Oprah's Favorite Things during the recession-themed 2008 episode.
