Re-gifting: Beware, It Can Go South by Yvonne

A very good friend of mine visited me last Christmas holiday. She'd just come from another mutual friend's home and he'd given her a gift.

Photo by allerleirau

"What's that in the bag?" I asked, knowing it wasn't for me. We'd already exchanged gifts.
 "It's a gift from HIM." (From here on he shall be referred to as The Re-Gift Guy.)

She whipped two books out of the bag, one was about Dorothy Parker and looked very familiar. I literally snatched it out of her hands to study it up close, page after page.

"He gave that to me last Christmas. I left it at his house by mistake!"
"You're kidding."
"No, I'm serious. In fact, last year both of these gifts were mine. I can't believe him."

The Re-Gift Guy had made the ultimate error in giving, he kept giving but the same thing to a different person. He was well-intentioned and maybe a bit forgetful.  But, for once my memory, a little foggy at times, didn't fail me. I'm a fierce Dorothy Parker fan.

So, to all the Re-Gift Guys and Girls out there, beware! Keep a list of those spare gifts you find around the house. Maybe there was a reason it was in a bag along with some used ribbon.

And remember that social networking will betray you in a click with people boasting and posting what they got for Christmas and Hanukkah.  Re-gifting isn't the worst thing you can do but it sure could end up being the most embarrassing.  Shhh, not a word to The Re-Gift Guy.