If you’ve received an unwanted gift this holiday season, you can rest assured you’re not alone. I myself was lucky enough to receive only 1 ugly sweater this year. But of course, I find it equally difficult to be enthused over my new fishing rod (mostly since I haven’t gone fishing since I moved away from a viable source of fish). So this year, like every year, I find myself asking- 
what can I do with that dreaded unwanted gift? Is there a way to get something out of it? To dispose of it without hurting the giver’s feelings? Here are some things that I’ve tried in the past, as well as some new suggestions from some of my clever friends. Hope they help you turn an unwanted gift into a welcome item.
- Sell it online. Surprisingly, this may be one of the best ways to get rid of unwanted gift. For example, I may not be able to use a fishing rod where I live, but someone who lives along the shore may be thrilled to buy it from me at a discounted price. And believe me, I’ll be happy to sell it, so that I can make money and keep my closet clean. You may not believe it but you can even auction unwanted gift cards on eBay. Definitely worth checking out.
- Offer it at a garage sale. If you live in a warm location or don’t mind waiting until the summer, why not try to unload your things at a garage sale? You’d be surprised how your junk can quickly become someone else’s treasure.
- Donate it. Is your unwanted gift something that you can donate to another person? Perhaps someone a little bit less fortunate than yourself? Though I’m not sure exactly where I can donate my fishing rod, there may very well be some charities that would be happy to take it, and to write me a tax-deductible receipt for this purchase (which, incidentally, is almost as good as cash).
- Swap it. You may not want your new lamp, but you may enjoy your friend’s unwanted cheese platter. Why not host a swap-night through which your friends – and friends of friends- can enjoy exchanging unwanted gifts? In the old days, someone might host an ugly sweater party, but in today’s day and age, there’s no reason to limit it to just ugly sweaters. Trust me, you have no idea what treasures you may find in someone else’s unwanted gift pile!
- Exchange it. Few gift recipients actually think about exchanging unwanted gifts, but if you know where it was purchased from you may be able to get store credit back. If you’re not sure where it came from, you can always try hinting to the giver, and hoping for the best. Or, be direct and explain the problem. There’s a good chance that your hideous slipper socks came from Target, and that you can get something you really want with the store credit.
- (And finally) regift it. It stands to reason that if you got an unwanted gift, it may have been somebody else’s reject (it may have even been a few other people’s reject). The question is, however, if you know someone who can use that gift. And I don’t mean someone you can just pass it off to, but someone who can actually use and enjoy it. It’s unlikely that someone you know will enjoy those reindeer antlers, so don’t even think about regifting them. But don’t worry- you’ve just seen that there are other options…
Do you have any other ideas about how to get rid of unwanted gifts? I’d love to hear them!
Happy Holidays,
Billy
Tags: ebay, garage sale, holiday gifts, unwanted gift cards
