Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Awkward regifting stories!

74 replies

DilemmaADay · 15/12/2020 20:36

Has anyone ever had a present that they decided to regift, which has come back to bite them?

I've been on the receiving end many moons ago when I worked in my previous job. I got a slightly snooty colleague "Deborah" for secret santa and had no idea what to get her. I got her some chocolates as id seen her chocolate often and some nice hand cream. The next week happened to be another colleagues birthday and she walked onto our department and walked over to "Deborah " and thanked her for the birthday present, before pulling out the chocolates I'd brought Deborah and offering them around....my face must have dropped and Deborah made an excuse and said she liked them sooo much she decided to buy them for the other colleague. I wouldnt have minded at all at her regifting, but the blatant lie made it more awkward so I just pretended it was a stunning coincidence and left work feeling a bit stung. I was only about 21 at the time.

OP posts:

SleepOhHowIMissYou · 15/12/2020 22:16

I always buy people things I love myself so this does work out well if they get regifted back. This happened with some small ruby heart earrings that went from me to best friend on 30th birthday, regifted by her to mutual friend on her special birthday who then regifted back to me on my 40th! Was glad to see them again after a decade and we had a good laugh about it. Perhaps I have bad taste?

Crumbleweed · 15/12/2020 22:25

Family member was given a wine tasting set by another relative. It came with a voucher for wine from an online wine merchant- the voucher expired about 5 years ago.

kshaw · 15/12/2020 22:28

When my great gran was alive she regifted something back to my mum, also added a hair wrap towel - my mum has had total alopecia for 30 years, an egg has more hair, was brilliantly awkward none of us wanting to bring it up in front of nanna

Rose789 · 15/12/2020 22:37

I made my grandma a pamper set one Christmas. Nighty, slippers etc. and put in a box of bath bombs that I was gifted for my birthday but am allergic to.
My next birthday opened my present from my grandma and she immediately said mind they’re not for eating. Same bath bombs I had given her 11 months earlier. Opened the box and one had a sizable bite taken out of it.

ranoutofquinoaandprosecco · 15/12/2020 22:38

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles brilliant didn't think to do that! As it happens it was a gift on my first marriage, think I left it behind with him!

alibongo5 · 15/12/2020 22:43

@SoggyBiscuitss

A double re-gift.

Work gave us each a bottle of Sainsbury’s Bucks Fizz
I wasnt drinking as I was newly pregnant so I added it to my aunties present bundle for Xmas.

7 months later she came to visit my new baby and handed me the Buck’s Fizz!! I didn’t tell her.
Very awkward.

Not quite sure why you getting a present back that you had already regifted was very awkward!

ruby4ever · 15/12/2020 22:46

@Alexindiamondarmour did not understand that

Titterofwit · 15/12/2020 23:00

A friend who was an Infant teacher had received lots of boxes of chocolates etc which she gratefully stored for her own use - nothing was wasted. But her brother popped round unexpectedly with his new girlfriend one Xmas day. Feeling awkward at giving her brother a present and not the girlfriend she quickly went to her stash and picked out a nice box of chocolates - popped them in a gift bag and presented them to the GF.
It was when the girlfriend took the box out of the bag -examined it and asked wonderingly " why does it say 'With lots of love to Miss Smith From Abbie' on it?" that she realised that she hadnt thought to check for writing on the box itself.
She vowed to never regift after that - far too embarrassing when caught out.

XmasBelle · 15/12/2020 23:16

I spent ages sourcing a present for my best friends 50th. I plumped for her birthstone in a polished silver necklace to which I recieved for my 50th 3 years later!! I didn't say anything, but just laughed quietly to myself!

IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere · 15/12/2020 23:23

A few years ago I bought what I considered to be a lovely scarf for my aunt for her birthday. She wrote and thanked me for it, saying how much she liked it etc. Three years later my mum unwrapped it for her birthday. It was the same scarf, still on the card that it was on when I sent it. The same year the same aunt sent my mum a set of Whittard drinks 10 months out of date.

Wonmoretime · 15/12/2020 23:28

I have a couple of regifting stories, from years ago.
When I was a teenager an elderly lady neighbour once gave me perfume in a very ornate bottle. When I had a closer look it was men's aftershave, and the bottle was less than half full.
A well off friend got married and my mother who was on benefits bought her a fairly expensive gift. Two and a half years later friend gave me the same thing back as a wedding present.

GreenClock · 15/12/2020 23:30

Loved the story of the bitten bath bomb!

Slightlyunhinged · 16/12/2020 02:45

Not quite regifting, but my brother and his friend gave been 'exchanging' the same birthday card for years, with a new signature and message each time. They're running out of room now!

EmmaWithTheGreatHair · 16/12/2020 06:53

MIL regifted a pair of boots she had worn, in fact I posted the thread on here, they were pony skin type ankle boots, black and white! One Mumsnetter loved them so I gifted them to her.

MIL does have form for this type of bizarre present giving though so I don’t think it surprised me too much. I had to tell her they were too big and someone at work had them, don’t think she would have understand a whole entire thread devoted to her and her gifting secondhand boots

Whoopsies · 16/12/2020 07:13

Just yesterday I ended up looking like the cf. I gave my friend a present for her new baby, part of it was a book that I love. She text me last night saying, sorry to bring it up, but inside the book is written "To ". I had genuinely got our copy out to see who wrote it, ordered another copy and then somehow put the wrong one in the gift bag 😂. I raced round with the right copy to show her it was the truth!!
Also, there is a marvel gift bag that comes out at every single one of my ds's class parties, it's become an on going joke now that it must be saved and reused for the next class party!

OffredOfjune · 16/12/2020 07:45

Not really regifted, but for DH's birthday just gone, he got some nice little presents from his family, and then weirdly enough, a little paperback baking book with cake recipes (he'd been into baking at that point). I'm absolutely certain i've seen that book at the in-laws before, so find it very odd they just chucked in a present for him that they found at the back of the cupboard they're not poor off either.

thegreatporkchop · 16/12/2020 07:50

One Christmas I gave my late MIL a lovely expensive embroidered bath towel, hand towel and face cloth, all lovingly wrapped in tissue and cellophane. She regifted it back to me the following Christmas still with the original tissue and cellophane wrapping. In her defence she was starting to develop dementia. I regifted it back to the following Christmas complete with the original wrapping as it was still in lovely condition. Yep, I got it back the following Christmas still with the original wrapping. It was the gift that kept on giving. I gave up at that point as the dementia had advanced quite a bit so just kept the set. I still have the hand towel and think of her each time I use it.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 16/12/2020 08:06

@Titterofwit

You should have said "I thought he was bringing his other girl friend." (Pause) "I just can't keep up with the constant changes."

possumgoddess · 16/12/2020 08:52

When I was a young mother and very poor I bought FILs partner a very pretty Indian silk scarf for her birthday. It didn't cost a lot but at the time even a little was more than I could afford to spend. I got it back for Christmas. Another year she gave me a very ugly black nylon half slip from M&S - I took it in to return and they pointed out that they hadn't had that design of label for years! I dont know why she bothered really.

Twiddlet · 16/12/2020 09:00

I was given a set of three candles and when I turned them over to unpackaged the box it had something like ‘British Airways’ and a slogan printed on the bottom. Clearly a corporate freebie they didn’t like.

pawsies · 16/12/2020 09:19

My dad was a frequent flyer always on planes.
One year a present for me was a travel kit but the kind that you get given for free on a plane.
Temporary toothbrush, napkin etc inside so it's clearly not a bought thing. Also had the logo of a plane company on it 😁

When clearing his house out I found many more of these things plus travel shampoo/shower gel bottles etc. Ended up donating it all to a homeless shelter. He was just a hoarder that couldn't stand waste. At least it didn't go to waste anyway.

Gave me a good chuckle though when opening that gift.

Whitney168 · 16/12/2020 10:06

@SoggyBiscuitss

A double re-gift.

Work gave us each a bottle of Sainsbury’s Bucks Fizz
I wasnt drinking as I was newly pregnant so I added it to my aunties present bundle for Xmas.

7 months later she came to visit my new baby and handed me the Buck’s Fizz!! I didn’t tell her.
Very awkward.

How on earth could you know that she hadn't drunk yours, and bought another bottle in Sainsbury's?

Not remotely awkward.

Bluntness100 · 16/12/2020 10:24

No regifting but my husband when we had been going out about a year or two, bought his mother her fave perfume for christmas. A normal sized bottle. With it came a small size free promo bottle. He gave me the free one. I opened it sitting next to her, on crimbo morning, right after she opened hers.

Was properly awkward.

Me, why have you got me your mums perfume?
Him, well I thought you’d like it
Me, I don’t wear that, that’s your mothers perfume.
Him, I just thought you’d like it, it’s a nice perfume.
Me, and why’s it so small. Shit did you get it free with your mums, it says free sample on it?
Him. Eh, Yes. I just thought it would make a nice gift.
Me, what a free fucking sample of your mothers perfume for crimbo?
Him, alright I made a mistake, I won’t be doing that again.
Me, I don’t want it, give it to your mother, to go with her paid for bottle, I don’t want the fucking free sample..

As his poor mother sat there cringing herself inside out.😂

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 16/12/2020 10:46

@pawsies

My dad was a frequent flyer always on planes.

That's a relief - I thought for a moment that he might have been an owl.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 16/12/2020 10:48

@Bluntness100

As his poor mother sat there cringing herself inside out

It might have been your swearing that made her 'cring herself inside out'

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread