To regift or not to regift-you decide

To regift or not to regift, that is the question. I say yes, Mike says no, and thus begins our first disagreement of marriage (and when I say first, I mean first this week.) Just kidding!

Here's the thing: when you get married, not everyone will give you money or something on your registry. They'll go off the list and buy you something else. This worked for the awesome panini maker we got, because I didn't even think of registering for that. It also worked for the awesome gifts my friend Jennifer got us from wine country in California. She either guessed correctly, or knew from our registry, that our primary house colors are black and white, and she totally rocked some very cool Tapas gifts.

But it doesn't always work when your friends and family haven't taken into consideration the following things a) you live in a 660-square foot apartment and hardly have room for two Chihuahuas, let alone large serving dishes or large party platters b) you like the color gold, but only in jewelry, not really in house decorations and c) you live in Chicago, not a Wyoming farmhouse, so there's really no room to throw parties with the perfect nut dishes.

(Disclaimer-I hope by now, you know my sarcastic humor, and I say this in good fun. I'm totally appreciative of everything we received. We have so much to be thankful for.)

Now, that being said, I think it's perfectly okay to regift. I'd rather have the gift get used, otherwise it will sit in our closet for the next five years until we finally give it to Goodwill.

Did you know there's actually a regifting website?? Here are suggestions from regiftable.com.

Is the gift regiftable? Never regift handmade or one-of-a-kind items. Signed books and monogrammed items are off-limits. Do you have to be told not to regift free promotional items? Some gifts that are good candidates for regifting include good (unopened!) bottles of wine, new household items and inexpensive jewelry.

How is the condition? Only new, unopened gifts in good condition should be considered for regifting. Never give partially used gift cards. Don’t give items that you have owned for a long time. A general rule of thumb: if you have to dust it off, it is not regiftable.

Is this going to work? Successful regifters use common sense. If you are going to regift, be sure you know who gave you the item, so you don’t return something to the original giver. Only regift items to people who are not likely to see the original giver.

Do you have good intentions? Don’t just give a gift to give a gift. Be sure that the recipient will appreciate the item. Remember, if you feel that an item is undesirable, the recipient probably will too. If you are regifting simply because you ran out of time, gift cards are simple to obtain and always well received.

How does it look? When it comes to gift-giving, go for show! While gift bags in good condition can be reused, wrapping paper is a one-time thing. Always spring for a new card or gift tag.

Can you handle it? If you don’t plan to announce the gift as a regift, ask yourself if you can keep the secret. Never feel guilty about regifting once you’ve done it.

Have you considered your options? An unwanted gift could be a welcome donation to a charitable organization. It is also an option to suck it up and keep an unwanted gift—after all, it was a gift.

What are your thoughts? I'd love your comments on whether or not it's okay to regift. (Don't even try and tell me you wouldn't regift these clogs.)