Is Regifting Rude?

Nina says: My birthday was in October, and my aunt got me a hoodie. It has the K-pop group BTS on it. I don’t really like K-pop, so I’ve never worn it. Now, I need to get a Christmas present for my friend Andy. He loves BTS. Is it rude to “regift” the hoodie to Andy?

Nina says: My aunt got me a hoodie for my birthday. It has the K-pop group BTS on it. I don’t really like K-pop, so I’ve never worn it. Now, I need to get a Christmas present for my friend Andy. He loves BTS. Is it rude to “regift” the hoodie to him? 

Nina says: My birthday was in October, and my aunt got me a hoodie. It has the K-pop group BTS on it. I don’t really like K-pop, so I’ve never worn it. Now, I need to get a Christmas present for my friend Andy. He loves BTS. Is
it rude to “regift” the hoodie to Andy?

Julio says: That’s bad manners!

    Isn’t gift giving supposed to be about showing people how much you care? By regifting the hoodie, you’re being rude to your aunt and Andy. Imagine how hurt your aunt would feel if she found out that you got rid of the gift she carefully picked out for you. 

    And I bet Andy would be hurt if he found out where the hoodie came from. Even if he loves it, the fact that you didn’t pick it out just for him kind of ruins it. Taking the time to find the perfect gift is the mark of a real friend. 

    If you don’t want to spend a ton of money, you can make Andy something special. Sometimes a homemade gift is the best kind! I’ve seen your drawings in art class, and they’re awesome. You could draw him a picture of BTS—wouldn’t he love that? And it would mean so much more than some hand-me-down hoodie.

Julio says: That’s bad manners!

    Gift giving is about showing people how much you care. By regifting the hoodie, you’re being rude to your aunt and Andy. Your aunt would be hurt if she found out that you got rid of the gift she gave you.

    And Andy might be hurt if he found out where the hoodie came from. He might love it, but it’s not special if you didn’t pick it out just for him. Taking the time to find the perfect gift is the mark of a real friend.

    If you don’t want to spend a ton of money, you can make Andy something. Homemade gifts can be the best kind! I’ve seen your drawings in art class, and they’re great. You could draw him a picture of BTS. He’d love that. And it would mean much more than some hand-me-down hoodie.

Julio says: That’s bad manners!

    Isn’t gift giving supposed to be about showing people how much you care? By regifting the hoodie, you’re being rude to your aunt and Andy. Imagine how hurt your aunt would feel if she found out that you got rid of the gift she carefully picked out for you. 

    And I bet Andy would be hurt if he found out where the hoodie came from. Even if he loves it, the fact that you didn’t pick it out just for him kind of ruins it. Taking the time to find the perfect gift is the mark of a real friend. 

    If you don’t want to spend a ton of money, you can make Andy something special. Sometimes a homemade gift is the best kind! I’ve seen your drawings in art class, and they’re awesome. You could draw him a picture of BTS—wouldn’t he love that? And it would mean so much more than some hand-me-down hoodie.

Cadence says: Pass it along!

    It would be so silly to let the hoodie just sit in your closet! If Andy would love it, I say give it to him. I don’t see anything rude about that. Isn’t it kind of the same as if you saw the hoodie in a store and bought it for him? It doesn’t matter where a gift comes from. All that matters is that you saw it and thought of a person you care about.

    It would be different if this were some super-special present your aunt gave you. But you don’t even like BTS, so she obviously doesn’t know you that well. If she didn’t put a ton of thought into it, her feelings shouldn’t be hurt if you regift it.

    What happens if you don’t give the hoodie to Andy? You could keep it for a few years and then get rid of it. It’ll end up in a thrift store or in the trash. To me, making Andy happy sounds a whole lot nicer than that.

Cadence says: Pass it along!

    It would be silly to let the hoodie just sit in your closet! If Andy would love it, then give it to him. I don’t think that’s rude. It’s the same as if you saw the hoodie in a store and bought it for him. It doesn’t matter where a gift comes from. What matters is that you saw it and thought of a person you care about.

    It would be different if this were some super-special present your aunt gave you. But you don’t even like BTS, so she clearly doesn’t know you that well. If she didn’t put much thought into it, she shouldn’t feel hurt if you regift it.

    What happens if you don’t give the hoodie to Andy? You could keep it for a few years and then get rid of it. It’ll end up in a thrift store or in the trash. To me, making Andy happy sounds much better than that.

Cadence says: Pass it along!

    It would be ridiculous to let the hoodie just sit in your closet when you know Andy would love it! I don’t see anything rude about giving it to him. Isn’t it basically the same as if you saw the hoodie in a store and bought it for him? It doesn’t matter where a gift comes from—what’s important is that you saw it and thought of a person you care about.

    It would be different if this were some super-special present your aunt gave you. But you don’t even like BTS, so she obviously doesn’t know you that well. If she didn’t put a ton of thought into the gift, her feelings shouldn’t be hurt if you regift it.

    If you don’t give the hoodie to Andy, you’ll probably keep it for a few years and then get rid of it. It’ll end up in a thrift store or in the trash. To me, making Andy happy sounds a whole lot nicer than that.