With all of the emphasis on going green nowadays, Americans are consistently looking for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. What better way to embrace this idea than to regift! To regift is to take a gift that was given to you and give it to someone else. This concept might support the idea of going green, but it doesn’t come without its own set of rules and limitations.

First of all, when someone gives you a gift that you have no intention of using, write their name on it before you place it in the regifting closet. This will ensure that you don’t accidentally regift the gift to the person who gave it to you. Also, know the trail that your gift could take. If your daughter in law gives you a piano playing snowman for Christmas, don’t try to regift it to your sister in law the following year…chances are your daughter in law will visit said sister in law’s house (which also happens to be her aunt-in-law and yes, this actually happened to me; I am the daughter in law in question.) To avoid hurting anyone’s feelings, only regift outside of the circle within which the gift was originally given.

Secondly, always wrap the gift in new wrapping. It’s just plain lazy to regift a gift in the same tissue and bag. At the very least, make sure you take the “To: and From:” tag off the gift first. Making the mistake of leaving the tag on could cause you some serious embarrassment during the gift exchange. Next, don’t be tempted to use the gift before you regift. Don’t read the book, listen to the CD or wear the scarf before you decide to regift it. There’s a difference between a used gift and a regift. Also, never regift something that was handmade especially for you. Even if it’s just a set of crocheted coasters, it reeks of tackiness.

Regifting doesn’t have to mean thoughtlessness. The regift should be something that you think the recipient will like and is appropriate for the recipient. Just because your regift closet only contains a wool turtleneck sweater doesn’t mean you should send it your sister who lives in Florida.

Food and wine bring a whole different element into the regifting concept. Food in a tin or container should never be regifted because you have no idea how long it’s been floating around the gift circuit. Homemade food can be tricky too. A friend of mine once made me some fudge which I promptly brought as a hostess gift to a holiday party that evening. When the fudge was a hit and I couldn’t produce the recipe off the top of my head, I was left feeling cornered and exposed. Wine and champagne are generally okay to regift, but it’s a good idea to know how much the original price of the item was. You might think you’re bringing a fancy bottle of the bubbly and you might be surprised to find out it cost $2.99 at the corner convenience store. It’s a good idea to just be aware of the value of the gifts you are regifting.

And finally, gift cards are probably the safest item to regift. Almost everybody loves a gift card and they can be purchased nearly everywhere nowadays so one never really knows where they came from. Two items of caution when regifting a gift card: make sure it doesn’t have an upcoming expiration (it may have been regifted for years) and make sure it has the total balance listed on the card. Sure, it’s been in your wallet for a long time and you don’t remember using it at any point but your recipient will be surprised to see that the coffee card you just gave them has only $1.16 left on it.

Whether or not you’ve actually regifted a gift, chances are people already assume you do. With a growing number of people admitting to regifting this holiday season, you might as well get in the game too. Follow the rules detailed above and consider it your contribution to the going green movement that has overtaken the country.

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