If you’re feeling guilty for thinking about returning that unironically ugly sweater your least favorite aunt gave you this holiday season, maybe don’t. ‘Tis the season of giving — and returning, after all.
The National Retail Federation reports that returns will total $890 billion for all of 2024. Returns happen year-round, but are most prevalent during the holiday season, the organization said.
But etiquette experts caution there is a delicate art to returning, or even regifting, the presents you receive.
“When it comes to returning a gift, I think discretion is key so you never hurt the gift giver,” said Myka Meier, an etiquette expert who runs Beaumont Etiquette in New York City.
There are some things to consider before heading to the store to make a return, according to Jo Bryant, a British etiquette consultant.
“The best way to return an unwanted gift is to really examine the financial worth, and relationship with the giver. It always involves a tricky conversation, so it is best to prioritise this for more expensive gifts when it really would be [a] shame that you can’t use it, and a real waste,” Bryant wrote in an email to NPR. “You also need to know the person who gave you the gift very well to be so honest with them.”
What are the rules on regifting?
Yes, regifting is allowable, under etiquette rules.
“But it should be done thoughtfully and carefully,” Meier said.
There are limits to what can be regifted. “If the gift was customized in any way or has sentimental meaning, it’s not something to regift,” she said.
She addresses this topic further in a post on Instagram.
Some things Meier recommends if you plan on sending that previously discussed hideous sweater to a new home:
- Make sure the gift is new, totally unused and in its original packaging
- Avoid giving this gift to someone in the same social circles. In other words: Don’t give the sweater your aunt gave you to your cousin.
- Rewrap the gift “to show effort and care, just as you would with a newly purchased gift!”