Re-gifting is great, it’s un-gifting that I don’t understand. I never heard of un-gifting until I got married. Early in my newlywed days, I would finish my Christmas shopping in November. I would have everything mailed by the first of December. Oh, those were the days, my friends!
One year, I remember opening a package that had come to me the first week of December. I excitedly ripped off the brown paper, exposing the Christmas wrapping. I noticed that someone had wrapped my gift in the same paper that I had used! The box was covered in the same green paper with tiny white dots and had the same red ribbon that was on the gifts that I had given that year. Great minds, I thought.
Then, to my dismay, I realized that my present was the very same one that I had mailed to my mother and father in law, the week before. They had mailed back the unopened present that I had put so much thought into selecting for them. That was the year that I learned about how unkind and juvenile some people could be, even though it was Christmas. I also learned that year, that giving them gifts that I would like to receive myself made the most sense.
It worked well for me, since many of them came back via return mail. To this day, I still have many of the gifts that they un-gifted back to me! It took me many more years to learn that I didn’t need to take such events personally. I actually reached the point where my very favorite kind of giving was anonymous! I love the feeling it gives me. Plus, I don’t need to be concerned with the possibility of the un-gifting of my presents! Oh my!
