Regift

Be upfront when giving the re-gifted item.

Don't tell the person who is receiving the gift that he/she is being regifted.

It's not usually acceptable to regift an item that's used rather than new. On the other hand, regifting something that's important to you and thus sharing its value with the recipient is actually quite generous and thoughtful.

But before you do any real regifting, you need to learn the rules.

In 2016, Soon-Yi Previn, the wife of Mr. [Woody] Allen, thanked Mr. [Jeff] Epstein for “the sweatshirts,” but asked that next time they not be monogrammed: “so when I regift it no one will suspect.” Mr. Epstein advised that she could always regift them to someone with the same initials.

Fortunately, I'd brought a selection of consolation prizes, Christmas regifts all, and so Ritchie the stranded F-250 driver became the recipient of a very nice scented candle.

Some regifts, particularly distinctive ones, may make the rounds (see “How to Repurpose a Fruitcake,” facing page) and end up being regifted to the original giver, a situation you may find hard to explain.

Food and drink are the most likely type of unwanted items to be passed along, accounting for 35 percent of all regifts, versus 23 percent for beauty and bath products and 18 percent for trinkets and collectibles.