Reusing gift bags

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

A conversation that occurred with my Mum today
DH asked me while I was on the phone if we had any gift bags left, joked about cutting the previous tag off.
My mum then asked me if reused gift bags and seemed shocked that we do. I've got one that seems to come back on a biannual basis for example.
She claims that no one does this (except my DHs family, as obviously we do to get that particular one back

So are we the only ones?
YABU... It's just you
YANBU... We reuse gift bags

(They get retired when they get grotty. But they still last a few uses!)

@UntamedWisteria

It would be irresponsible NOT to reuse a gift bag.

I haven't bought any wrapping for about 10 years.

We do this too, I think it’s great, like creating a tradition

@emilyfrost

Do you not see how wasteful that is or do you just not care?

LittleMissLockdown I don’t care.

That is such a waste. Are you concerned about environmental issues?

woodhill Nope.

What do you do about shopping bags?

cantdothisnow1 I just buy them as and when I need them.

You've over-egged it there, no one's that selfish

Absolutely reuse them! My mum gets annoyed if you give her a gift bag and you've written on the tag 😂😂

Everyone I know reuses gift bags so you are not alone. It’s such a waste not to.

I don’t reuse them; I just bin them. I wouldn’t be best impressed if someone gave me a used one

How would you know ?

We have a huge selection of these in the under stairs cupboard- really wouldn't care if they came back my way!

When we were younger, we had to open our gifts carefully so the wrapping paper could be reused tol

mrstea301 im with your mum. I only write on the tag if my present is likely to get mixed up with others ie I am not going to hand it directly to the recipient.

Everyone reuses them! We have a whole drawer full of decorated giftbags of all different shapes and sizes, plastic bags from Uniqlo deliveries and similar, padded envelopes... It's just normal practice. I'm also a charity shop volunteer and we sell 5 for 99p, they sell really well, especially the Christmassy ones.

There are some people with very odd ideas about presents and wrapping, some sort of "buying a new bag every time shows you care so much" type thing. But I agree, nobody is so selfish that they just chuck away.

This year we're being super eco - got some wrapping paper in the charity shop, and we're even using the thicker paper centre bit to wrap presents in. Tags made from old cards, ribbon recycled from all sorts of other presents and gifts.

Why would you not reuse them? As long as they're in good condition why not? In fact I don't think I've ever bought one myself

Always re use, never write on gift tags but that does not matter.
I have been given presents today in a bag, and the tag does not match the bag. It was written on, probably because so many gifts were exchanged today, so I've torn it off and will find another or create one from a card or something. I do buy new ones usually at Christmas time, but generally through the year I buy rare ones that I wouldnt have in like young birthday/new baby/new house. I really hope they get reused. I pay a fortune for some, I hope they are used until they are actually worn out.

I'd judge somebody much more harshly for not reusing them than for reusing them. They have got to be one of the most wasteful things if they are just single use. Luckily nobody I know would be in the slightest bit bothered by a second, third, tenth hand gift bag, and that includes people from extremes of wealth and poverty. The bottle bag that my friend and I use to give each other the predictable bottle of bubbles for eachother's birthdays has become quite legendary now. I've lost count but it is on its at least fifth year and still going strong!

I don’t think I’ve ever bought gift bags new....

We have an Emma Bridgewater bag that rotates around my work mates.
I can remember my mum saving wrapping paper (we had to be careful removing the tape) It would be ironed and stored. Usually to cover my school books in January.

I reuse them! Totally irresponsible to Chuck them away! They have loads of use in them.

I was shocked when my sister binned a gift bag i gave her a present in. I reuse them and tend not to write on the gift tag so they don't look used.

I had one gift bag that alternated between me and a friend half a dozen times. It became a bit of a joke. I think she's kept it.

Most people deliberately don’t write on the tags specifically so they can be used again. Your mum is in the minority. It’s so wasteful not to reuse them.

I’ve got an entire box full on standby

@FIFIBEBE

I have some that have been reused so many times, they have Woolworths price stickers on the bottom and I hope will continue to give good service. I just need to remember to always give them to people who will return them.

YY we've still got a couple of Woolworth's gift bags in the family system!

You've over-egged it there, no one's that selfish

satnighttakeaway If you want to believe nobody does that you are well within your rights to live in cloud cuckoo land.

Having had two baby girls, I have what seems like hundreds of baby girl gift bags. Everyone with a birthday this year got their present in on (including boys!) and I blamed it on lockdown

Still got what feels like a million of the buggers.

I thought that was part of the point of them.

I reuse them constantly.
When they get to the stage where they’re not good enough to use for gifts I use them to store wrapping paper, gift tags, ribbon etc

I always recycle gift bags. I feel quite twitchy giving someone a gift bag of I think they won't reuse it.