Unless you very explicitly told people what you’d like for Christmas gifts AND those you told listened to you and bought what’s on your list, chances are you’ve end up with a few presents you didn’t want. If that happened to you this holiday season, don’t worry. There are things you can do with that unwanted gift.
But first, before you do anything, consider who the gift giver is. If it’s someone you see frequently and she’s the type of person who will ask you about the gift or to expect to see it in your home or see you wearing it, you may just have to keep the item and put it out on display or wear it when you’ll see the person.
If that’s not the case, try these strategies to get rid of the gift:
1. Return it, if possible. Some gift givers are very conscientious and give gift receipts. If you get a gift with a gift receipt, by all means exchange it for something you really want. If you don’t have the receipt, some stores will let you exchange it for store credit, so that’s also a possibility.
2. Sell it. eBay is often filled with auctions after Christmas. Yes, you guessed it, people who didn’t like their gifts take to the Internet to sell them off. Good places to sell your unwanted gifts include eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook groups.
If you got a gift card from a store you don’t frequent, you can sell that off, too. A site like Gift Card Granny helps you find which site you can use to get the best deal for your gift card. Expect to receive 60 to 90% of the gift card’s value depending on the store the gift card is for as well as the site you use to sell it.
3. Regift it. Some people don’t believe in regifting, but many others see nothing wrong with the practice. If you do regift, make sure to wrap it again. (There’s nothing more embarrassing than forgetting to take off a tag with your name on it as well as the giver’s!) Also, consider keeping a list of who gave you what so you don’t make the ultimate faux pas and regift the present to the person who gave it to you!
4. Give it away. If you don’t want to, or can’t, return, sell, or regift the item, consider giving it away. For instance, if you have a newborn and you received 6 baby blankets this year, there’s nothing wrong with giving away a few of them. Charities are often happy to receive donations, especially on new items. Plus, you can use the donation as a tax write off.
Don’t feel like you have to keep presents that are unwanted. If the gift giver will be none the wiser, there’s nothing wrong with using one of these strategies to get rid of an unwanted gift.
Have you received an unwanted gift before? If so, what did you do with it? Were you ever “caught” by the gift giver?
