Do people really think their friends don’t notice re-gifted toiletries?

[MoustachaNatasha]

I know this will sound ungrateful, and I know the obvious answers are “just stop doing gifts,” “be glad you got anything at all,” or “maybe that’s all they can afford.” I get all of that, but that’s not really my question.
I always put thought into gifts I think my friends will genuinely like, but every year I seem to receive a random mix of toiletries or odds and ends that I can’t use, and feel too embarrassed to re-gift. Some of them are literally the free gifts you get when buying full sizes. They go straight into a cupboard and today I’m bagging them up to donate to my DD’s Christmas fair. It even crossed my mind that I’ll probably end up receiving something back from there in the next round of gifts.
So my actual question is: if you re-gift toiletries, do you honestly believe the recipient won’t notice, or do you just not care if they do?
Genuinely curious how others see this.

I did put them in another gift box, just in case. That gift box was preowned too lol

Please tell me you regifted it to her a second time after she gave it back!

I don’t regift, but I do take gifts I don’t want to a charity shop in the next town, hoping nobody will notice. My very elderly neighbour always regifted everything, which was quite funny as often she’d just received it from another neighbour. I was surprised when a good work friend gave me a lovely leather travel jewellery box for Christmas. She had clearly forgotten it was what I’d given her the year before. I love it though and use it a lot!

But how will Getting her hideous earrings help all that? She won’t connect the two things. You obviously wanted her to feel bad and I do sympathise but you can’t make someone feel anything. If she’s as awful as you say and that’s a general feeling it would have been better to say to the organiser I can’t in all conscience buy a gift for this person.

You've got issues if you think someone asking a couple of questions is obsessed with you. Then again your idea of giving presents suggests issues anyway.

I am loving the number of people who have regift traditions of a specific item passed around repeatedly With our glass flowers when dad was stuck in hospital with cancer during Covid and we couldn’t see him we sent them in to him beautifully wrapped and the nurse at the time said how lovely it was l we were still sending him flowers the only way we could. The video call afterwards where he shook his fist and called us bastards was a rare bit of needed laughter at a horrible time

That adds another dimension to it, as gift bags/boxes are too expensive and horribly wasteful to only use once and then throw away.

You might have thought long and hard about the perfect (brand new!) gift for them that they woukd truly love... but if you pop it in the bag that Aunty Sheila used for your gift, with the tag that bore your name now cut off, does it look like you've just regifted any old secret Santa tat?!

I hope not. I always reuse gift bags but never regift anything.

My SIL once gave me a ball of string in a sort of wooden unwinding thing. I was a bit nonplussed by it but it has come in surprisingly handy. The moral of the story is that if you want to insult someone, don’t give something they end up quite liking.

Did she accidentally mix up the presents, and her (equally bemused) DCat got a toiletries gift set?!

My friend and I stopped giving gifts years ago. I simply said ‘we both have so much ‘stuff’ why don’t we stop?’ So we did!

We just don’t write on the tag…or just cut it off and add your own.

Very good point - slightly difficult to investigate now. I wrote a nice thank you letter at the time, for a ball of string. 🥳

Same here - but plenty of people do write on the tag, meaning that it has to be removed/replaced.

I hate it when people don't even try to cut off the plastic shop display hook inside - or worse, if they chop off all of the plastic - not just the top half with the hook - and trash it!

I dont generally give gifts as everyone I know has everything they need or the financial means to purchase it! I would give all those odds and ends of toiletries to a foodbank box in a supermarket. so that those that want them can select them. I wouldnt give them to your DD school fair either as that is just passing it on again where it isnt wanted. Having worked at school fairs theres always donations like this that end up in the bin!

I suggested that as a gift for my son when he was 4 or 5. He was always looking for string for his soldiers to climb all over the house. It was one of his favourite presents that year. We had climbing soldiers all over the place.

I have regifted toiletries and perfume but only things I would be happy to receive. Things I’ve regifted in the past include Molton brown & l’occitane gift sets, Chanel perfume (as I already had an open bottle and a spare), Dior lipstick set that I already had, Mario badescu skincare set and other items of a similar nature. I get gifted toiletries and perfume often but sometimes it gets to the point where I receive more than I can use so choose to regift as it saves the hassle of buying a present and would be wasted otherwise. I do ensure I gift things I think would suit the person I’m gifting- it’s never thoughtless.

I regift. No qualms about it whatsoever.
However, when I receive a gift I don’t like I pop a post it note who it’s from and make sure it’s not re-gifted to the purchaser.
Regifting is essentially upscale recycling and it means I get shot of stuff I don’t like.

I don't mind if someone gives me something they have regifted. Often I will regift, sometimes I receive something that I know I won't be able to use or already have.
I think as long as you regift while keeping the new recipient in mind it's okay.
ie: Don't regift a fragrance pack unless you know they like that fragrance.

I always buy gifts that I would love to receive. I would be happy to get one back but that's never happened....yet!

I’d ask DIL to pass note back to DIL’s mum and say it was such a lovely personal note that DIL mum may want to keep it. And say it with a straight face. 😬

My nieces love skincare and makeup. I figured they get the chance to try some luxury brands this way. The advent is from Liberty. I hoped they looked forward to it- they’ve never said otherwise (but they wouldn’t- they’re well brought up). I’ll check with my sister.

The candles in the calendar, I give to friends.

Yep and someone else would really appreciate it. I’m not fussed on some of the things in the advent calendar my OH has picked up for me so may well re-gift them. As an example I’ve no real interest in the drunk elephant serum that’s about £60 on its own that’s in there somewhere but I have a friend who is super keen on trying stuff like that out so it would be a nice present for her. I can then spend the the £30 I would have used for her gift to get myself something I like instead. Quite possibly a nice candle.

I find the Lumene skincare products very good especially on Boots £10 Tuesday

Sorry wrong thread 😀