Thursday, December 24, 2009
Your Turn
So, for the past two weeks everytime I have walked into the office of my boss there has been this huge gift basket of food. I'm not talking Hickory Farms here. I am talking good stuff. The kind of stuff that if it were not wrapped by cellophane would have been pilfered by yours truly one stick of salami at a time. Anyway, the basket sat there for two weeks with this huge white card on it with the name of my boss. Everyday in the same place. Then on Monday I noticed the card had been replaced with one that said the name of one of our clients. Re-gifting a gift basket? To me that is sacrilege. I think it is the right of every worker to partake in all food delivered to an office at the holidays. Anyway, it got me to thinking. Have you ever re-gifted? Been the recipient of one? What did you receive or re-gift?
I usually never re-gift, however, one year my husband and I went to a nice White Elephant gift party and got two very nice gifts (one of which was a fishing pole set). We had to go to another party with a gift exchange the next day and my husband neglected to tell me until the last minute that we needed to bring nice White Elephant gifts, so we brought the two we got the night before and they were the most popular gift exchange gifts there. My husband's friend got the fishing pole set and said to my husband, "I bet you had me in mind when you bought this!"
ReplyDeleteI agree that bosses should share edible gifts with the staff. The bosses at my work are very generous about sharing gifts they receive with the whole staff.
unless i got something that i just knew someone else would be crazy about, i would never re-gift. i HAVE never re-gifted. i think it's lazy, tacky, and cheap.
ReplyDeleteOur bosses are too generous. The break room is a buffet the two weeks before Christmas. It gets ugly. Turkeys, cheese, cookies, cakes, popcorn. My god.
ReplyDeleteI am he boss in my office, and I ALWAYS put out the gift baskets for everyone to share. Always.
ReplyDeleteI've never regifted. Have no idea if it has happened to me, but it wouldn't bother me.
ReplyDeleteI regift anything that I can't use. I consider it a good way to recycle. Just because I can't use it doesn't mean the next person won't appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI've never regifted. Have no idea if it has happened to me, but it wouldn't bother me.
ReplyDeletei re gifted some chocolates to a last minute drop in guest. serves them right for not calling first!
ReplyDeleteYou really made me laugh Enty. I used to work for this woman who would get these huge baskets from clients for all the work WE did to make her look good. She always took them home and never shared. Selfish B****!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, to my knowledge have never been re-gifted, or re-gifted in the traditional sense. Every Christmas though my best friend and I tell what we got, and if one doesn't want something, will give to the other.
Not quite on topic but kinda...
ReplyDeleteI was in Target the other night and the girl in front of me was using Target gift cards to buy a cart full of what were obviously gifts.
As for me, I was gifting myself with some new fuzzy slippers :)
On the other hand I know someone who uses all of their free points from hotels etc. to buy expensive gifts. For years I was spending my hard earned money to buy them equally expensive gifts until I realized they weren't actually spending their own money.
ReplyDeleteThe hotels that they stay at, and all of the points they receive are come from traveling on the job. So the company pays for everything, they get the freebies and pass them off as gifts. This person is actually very cheap and rarely spends their own money on anyone.
OOPS I meant to say "they receive are coming"
ReplyDeleteco-worker who received size XXXL briefs from her mother-in-law came in second.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, when I worked in the advertising department at Macy's Herald Square, the Marketplace used to run their annual Christmas goodies add and would bring up boxes of expensive gourmet chocolates to be used in the ad. Afterwards, the buyer would allow us to eat all of the product -- a yummy holiday bonus!
Also off topic, ya'll have a very merry holiday. This is a great site and the snark is a wonderful break from my day. Bless you Enty, and all the good folks who read your fabulous site.
ReplyDeleteOops-- my message got cut off!
ReplyDeleteI was saying that I have never re-gifted, but I think my sister gave me a re-gifted item -- a hideous silver metallic faux alligator skin tote bag (not may style at all!) It actually won the "tackiest, most inapproriate Christmas Gift" in the office contest. A size 4 co-worker who received size XXXL briefs from her mother -in-law came in second!
I've never re-gifted anything tnhat I can recall, and I don't know if anyone ever re-gifted me. If they did, it must have been something I liked so who cares?
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to the CDAN gang! Stay safe and enjoy the holidays!
Yup. I re-gift the generic gifts (bath sets, chocolates boxes that are not from See's candies and sometimes gift cards especially to places I don't go to). Also did this with my wedding presents and gave it to a friend who was also getting married =) Thank gosh for the anon button!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Enty!
Holy Crap, this is exactly what my boss does but she doesnt wait a moment to do it. All kinds of good stuff comes in addressed to Dr Greedy Bitch and Staff but she promptly grabs it from the box it is shipped in and declares she is going to give it to her mother. We all know she is regifting them to other doctors. WTF?!???!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis year is the first time I've ever re-gifted something. It's a $75 bottle of champagne, and I think my friend will really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI have one close friend that gave me her used camera for christmas. (It was orginally her daughter's used camera) I think it was made of plastic. A couple weeks later she brought me the computer cd and instruction booklet that she forgot to put in the box.
I've re-gifted so much stuff there's no way I could remember it all. My bosses were always giving me items that I had no interest in whatsoever, so I would pass them on to someone I thought would be appreciative of them.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays to my CDAN family and to Enty. I hope Santa leaves you some maple flavored bacon under the tree.
ReplyDeleteThe only good thing about my miserable job is the unending food. Chile cook offs, holiday food, lunch leftovers from our in house classes (I get to order so it is always what I like.), just beacuse someone wanted to bake goodies, summer BBQ's. Need I say that dieting is a nightmare for the staff.
Our President always shares.
I regift things I can't use if I know someone who will really like said gift.
It's always annoyed me that the managing partner in our firm, a multi-millionaire with five homes and four boats, keeps all his baskets and assortments, when the re-gift of them would really add to some of the employees' holidays.
ReplyDeleteMy funniest re-gift receipt was one year when my daughter presented me with an assortment of books - which I'd loaned her earlier in the year. I was happy to get them back.
I had been married for many years when my brother-in-law finally got married. That year the happy new couple gave us a toaster for Christmas that was obviously one of their duplicate wedding gifts. I put a free ad in the local newspaper and sold it.
ReplyDeleteNever regifted and not sure if it has been done to me. It did, however, happen to someone I know--and it was the gift the regifter got from the regiftee! Tacky.
ReplyDeleteHubby is allergic to nuts and chocolate, so I have to graciously receive, then re-gift in pristine condition (never wrinkled or smudged, etc.) Why waste a really nice product just b/c WE can't eat it?
ReplyDeleteNever re-gifted. I am not sure if I ever received a "re-gift", but one of my best present ever was a collection of old cookbooks from my grandfather a few years after my grandmother passed away. It made me cry.
ReplyDeleteWhat is even more special is that about 10 years earlier I was living with grandparents during my senior year of high school due to family issues.
My parents came over for Christmas dinner and gifts. I found out that I did not receive any gifts from them-they forgot to buy anything for me.
I was upset and went into my room for a little cry-anything that went wrong was always my fault despite the situation-my mom said I was acting like a spoiled brat while my younger sister opened a department store full of gifts in front of her from my parents.
My grandmother came in with a crocheted afghan she had made for me. She said she was going to give it to me later, but she figured that I needed it now.
Twenty six years later, I still cry when I think about what my grandparents truly gave me-their unconditional love and acceptance.
Happy holidays to all of you.
^ Damn, now I'm tearing up.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never resifted because I operate under the philosophy that if I can't use it than someone less fortunate can. It‘s a win-win since someone out there gets something they can use and my house stays clutter-free.
This year I only bought gifts for the great big loves in my life (boyfriend, parents, siblings, and best friends), and for everyone else I made homemade cookies, cakes, and various types of biscotti that I put in really cute glass jars to give as gifts. I never really know what to get for co-workers/causal friends, but loathe the idea of getting a panic gift that says ‘I-didn’t-know-what-you’d-like-so-here’s-some-candles/giftcard/bubble bath soap/tester kit of some product, etc.”='. Plus, I love when people give me homemade deliciousness rather than a giftcard.
Why NOT regift? I would much rather give someone else a really nice item that I WON"T use and they will rather than letting it rot in my closet.
ReplyDeleteI have pared my household WAAAAY down, so if I am not going to use it, it WILL leave my house--might as well to someone that will like it.
a friend of mine regifts all the time. She gave me a cheap set of wine glasses once and put used hand lotions in door prize goody bags for a wedding shower.
ReplyDeleteI gotta share this one with ya'll!!!
ReplyDeleteMy Aunt Mildred takes "re-gifting" to a whole new level. She re-gifts Christmas Cards!!! Every year, all of us relatives would get a beautiful card from her, but when you opened it up, you would see black sharpie scribbles where she colored over the old names!!!! Sometimes, the envelopes would also have sharpie scribbles on them.
But if nothing else, it was good for a laugh!!!
Yuck about the lotion Anonymous 2:11!! I guess that is a good example of the line that can be crossed between good regifting, 'Someone else would enjoy this perfectly fine item so much more than I', and bad regifting, 'I'm passing this on because there's something wrong with it.'
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've regifted something like a candle or bath salts in the past and I'd do it again.
I understand sharing the food received, but does the rule apply to wine?
ReplyDeleteI don't re-gift.
I have regifted a lot. If it is something I'm not going to use, then I regift it. However, only if it is the right fit with the recipient.
ReplyDeleteThe few times I've received ultra generic gifts like cheap bath oils, I've left it in the laundry room with a "take me" sign or given it to Goodwill. I like for a bit of thought to be put into gifts I receive, because I certainly do that with gifts I give. Even if they're regifted.
I received some candles that had animal prints on them: leopard, zebra, and cheetah. Regifted to a friend who loved them .
ReplyDeleteAt her wedding, my friend recieved some tupperware that looked like it was from the 1950s. When she turned the box over, it was marked $1.00 on a piece of masking tape--obviously from a rummage sale. Tackiest thing ever.
i've done it, but things brand new in boxes, like multiples. i do it a lot with my kids, but i often ask them if they want it first.
ReplyDeletei send a LOT of stuff to charity. if i get rooked on ebay, it's often simpler just to put it in the donate box than fight it.
i'm pretty sure i've been re-gifted. i know my mom passes stuff to me, and usually tells me.
i don't think it's bad if it's a new item and somebody else can use it/would like it.
I used to think regifting was sooo wrong, but times have changed.
ReplyDeleteI'll be glad to see all the See's GONE in the new year. My office has had a ton of food.
Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you're celebrating to everyone.
Chocolates and wine have been the extent of my regifting. I receive plenty of both and they would go to waste otherwise. They make great hostess gifts.
ReplyDeleteJust merlots and chardonnays. I even may put a mark to know who gave it to me so I don't send it back to them.
ReplyDeleteJoyeux Noel all.
I don't regift but I have just plain given away to friends gifts that I have no use for. I have discovered the wonder that is Freecycle.org and now give away stuff there. It doesn't end up in a landfill, someone else gets something they want or need and they'll pick it up!
ReplyDelete(Incidentally, earlier this month I decided to give away two artificial Christmas trees I hadn't bothered with in years and one person replied asking for the larger of the trees and wanted me to drive it to them 30 miles away. I thought that was majorly tacky!)
@ Anonymous 2:46 - If I were the recipient of the old tupperware I would have given it back to the cheapass gifter on the next gift occasion. It's better to give nothing at all than to give a gift that shoddy. To hell with "it's the thought that counts"! Jerks!
It's always and adventure as to what my sister in law will give. Last Xmas she must have raided her cupboards for our gift. For the record, I have no issue with people regifting perfectly good items.
ReplyDeleteIt was a basket wrapped in cellophane and at first glance it looked quite nice. Once unwrapped, it wasn't so nice. I recognized the wicker basket as one that I had given her about 12 years ago and it was dusty. It was filled with used, dirty stuff. The worst part was when my 3 year old came to me with a package of candy from the basket. She wanted me to open it for her. On closer inspection the hard candies were all moldy. I wonder how long must those have been sitting around for?! They were disgusting.
BTW, she's an aerospace engineer with a MBA making a great living. Cheapest person on the planet though.
We receive SOOOOOOOOO much chocolate and wine from hubby's work, we have to regift... It's either that or let it spoil.
ReplyDeleteI've regifted on many occasion, but only if I believed the recipient would indeed love it. Like Ms., anything cheap [poor quality] or tacky just either goes to Sally Ann or the dump.
Oh,funny sort of regift I got: you know those cute little freebie 'gift with purchase' you get with the high end cosmetics promotions, like Clinique or Lancôme? One of my Mom's friends once gave me one of those as a gift... But I didn't care, 'cause I'm a Clinique WHORE and loved it all! ;)(I just wished the mascara had been a full-sized sample... LOL!)
Last year I got a cute bracelet that my friend fell in love with before I got it out of the box. I regifted it to her as her birthday present two weeks later after explaning the situation to the person who gave it to me. We put both names on the card, and my friend was overjoyed. Tacky? Not so much.
ReplyDeleteDoes it count as regifting if my girl helps herself to my earrings? lol
I've only regifted once. I forgot to buy a wedding gift and it was shortly after my first wedding. I went to the basement, grabbed something I knew I'd never use and wrapped it on the way to the wedding. I still feel guilty!
ReplyDeleteWorking in government procurement, I've never been allowed to accept any gift except pens, paper and coffee mugs so that really sucks. If we ever got anything good, we either had to share it with the entire company, give it back or give it to charity. I think all congressional members need to abide by the same rules.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous new year.
Never re-gift. I don't get that many.
ReplyDeleteI had theee hugest dickhead boss. Totally loaded, multi-millionaire. He collected those same mammoth gift baskets & booze for 3 weeks evry December. His office was overloaded with shit he'd never appreciate & he *never* shared with the lowly staff. I suggested he donate them to the local food bank, he shot me a side eye. We're all pretty sure he re-gifted. Hope he rots in hell.
I don't regift with one exception. I have a friend in the wine and liquor business. She is generous to me with wine and liquor beyond what I can consume. So when I need a hostess giftI regift some of the wine.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous who complained about the friend using points for gifts. Your friend paid big time for those points. Business travel is not fun especially when you get above 15 or 20% of your time on the road.
To all of the CDAN community who believe, May you have the Merriest of Christmases and rejoice in the joy of the Christ Child born today.
Mostly lurking here.
ReplyDeleteI regift but it is usually a situation where someone sees it and loves it much more than I do or it is something I know for sure that someone has said they want.
Most of my friends are writers, artists and social worker types, so we're all pretty pragmatic about the whole regifting thing.
I regifted one time. I got one of those machines where you dip your hands in wax. I think it's supposed to exfoliate them or something. That's not really my thing. Well, by coincidence my husband's aunt asked for that exact thing for Christmas so I passed it on to her. I figured I wasn't going to use it so I might as well give it to somebody who would.
ReplyDeleteRegifting done right is the original recycling. My inlaws werent so good at it.
ReplyDeleteI got an outfit for my son that reeked of moth balls and had a tag on it from a store that went out of business years before. I also got a vase with a card to my inlaws still in the box.
I re-gifted one year. My husband and I had been away the week before Christmas and I came home sick as a dog. All of a sudden the holiday was upon us and we realized we had gotten nothing from my brother-in-law and his partner. We had a new, never used knife sharpener so we re-gifted it to them and they liked it. I still squirm when I think of it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever been re-gifted, if I was it wasn't obvious.
my daughter bought my sister a very nice cake plate for her birthday in July. On Christmas day my daughter received the same cake plate for Christmas from my sister. Let's just say I have not viewed my sister the same way since..cheap bitch.
ReplyDeleteI left my job after a falling out with my boss, a lovely man and he sent a painting as a farewell gift, I sent it back. Two years later we became friends, he came to my wedding and as a gift I unwrapped the the painting I had returned to him. It is on the wall of my living room and each time I look at it I smile.
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays, everyone!
ReplyDeleteOne year my sister asked my brother to buy her tickets for Christmas to a show that she said her husband wanted to see. The following year I received an envelope from my sister, and it contained the same tickets that were given to her the year before! I did call her and asked if she knew if they were still usable! She got mad at me when she realized that I knew she had re-gifted the tickets, like it was my fault!
Yes, but only brand-new, still in package things. I actually have a box in my basement where I keep gifts that I know that I'll never use, and also things I purchase throughout the year. Then when I need a gift, it's the first place I look.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays to all!
ReplyDeleteI don't recall ever truly re-gifting to anyone. I have gotten some things that I have given away to family/friends when I knew I couldn't use them but thought they might be able to. I don't think its the worst thing in the world if its brand new and the person doesn't truly want the gift. Might as well give it to someone that can use it right? However, on the food basket thing, Enty, I am in full agreement that it should be fair game for the office mates if said recipient does not wish to keep it. My former bosses were all usually pretty good about the sharing....mmmm...chocolate covered pretezels. Those were always a favorite.
My family has a "white elephant" every year and we use gifts we don't want/need. It's the most entertaining part of the holiday.
ReplyDeleteI don't care if I get a regift as long as it's something I want.
Ugh. How about sitting there and signing for this crap, and not even a morsel was passed onto you? Not one, cheap-ass bottle of wine. Having sat in plenty of executive offices, I've seen some pretty swanky stuff go through, but was I ever handed even a pack of pistachios? Never.
ReplyDeleteI usually use gift cards received for my b'day to buy Christmas gifts. And if we can't use something received as a gift, we'll rarely regift since I doubt anyone else can use it either - so it goes into the G**dwill bag. I like utilitarian gifts, not decorative.
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Why is J.Lo spamming the blog?
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ReplyDeleteI have given stuff away that I received and couldn't use, but I have never given one as a "gift", if that makes any sense. I never wrap it and give it like I paid for it and bought it especially for them for the occasion.
ReplyDeleteI worked all day. Yay public safety.
Got roped into a bachlorette party for a gal I barely knew.
ReplyDeleteRegifted her some horny gel-juice I recieved for when I got married but never opened. It was pretty dried up when she opened it whoops.
We got a really nice gift basket this year, and my co-worker and co-conspirator made sure we got our fair share. Besides, I do most of the ordering to the company who sent us the basket. I do feel I deserve some of the yummy stuff....
ReplyDeleteRe-gifted = No, but I am not above it. I would if I could...
Been Re-gifted = Yes!! The same co-conspirator gave me a bunch of random shower gel and soap one year for my birthday. Well later in the year she confessed to me that she really only re-gifts!! :)
LOl Mooshki. You guys are the best and always make me laugh. Happy Holidays to all ~ esp. Enty.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother just regifted something to me -- and it was a present that I'd given to her a few years ago! I guess she figured I'd like it. :P
ReplyDeleteI cannot remember if I have regifted but I think I would fess up to it and it would be never ever be tacky!
ReplyDeleteI do feel a little guilty about not telling my step mother that I gave away the gift (an individual coffee cup maker with pods) she gave me last year to a good friend of mine. My doctor took me off coffee to help with my stomach issues. I have told my step mother that I do not drink coffee and what did I get this year? A whole bag full of coffee pods! The saving grace is my friend loves the coffee maker!!
I can't stand decorative things like candles or body lotions/soaps, and I don't consume junk food or alcohol. So when I receive them as gifts, I give them to friends or relatives who would appreciate them more. I don't particularly care if I've been re-gifted, so long as I like it.
ReplyDeleteBack when my mom was teaching she'd get boxes full of gifts at Christmas and the end of the year, so she'd regift those. There's only so many chocolate boxes, mugs and candles one can take.
I'm the minority I guess, but I'm not going to get all greedy about my boss not sharing edible presents sent to him/her. It's their present, they're not obligated to share unless the present is specifically dedicated to the office on the card. Yes, the polite thing would be to open the package and share it, but I'm not going to judge someone who doesn't. If I want something, I'll buy it myself. I don't need freebies.
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