Point: Re-gifting Should Become a More Socially Acceptable Practice
By Cleo Erhed
Clueless Gifter
Gifting culture needs to change now. I recently went to a Secret Santa party with all my friends, and naturally, we all brought a gift for a person we were assigned to a few weeks ago. I lucked out (or so I thought) and got my friend Darryl, who is a total sucker for chocolate. Chocolate is probably the easiest gift I could get since it’s in every crevice of my house. So a few days before the party, I grabbed a box of fancy Belgian chocolates in my fridge, wrapped it up nicely, and gave it to him.
When it came time for me to give him the gift, I proudly handed him the box of chocolates and thought to myself, “He’s going to freaking love this!” Instead, I got a look of dismay followed by him condescendingly asking me if the gift was a joke. Confused, I told him that I thought he loved chocolate and would enjoy how thoughtful my gift was. My friend then awkwardly accepted the gift, but I knew something was on his mind. A day later, one of my other friends at the party called me and chastised me for giving Darryl a re-gifted box of chocolates. After I heard that, I felt so attacked. Why was I being called out for something everyone else seems to do? I mean, sure, I did eat a few dark chocolates here and there, but everything was still intact for the most part!
Honestly, so what if I re-gift something for someone else? Modern “gift culture” is taking a selfish turn, and gift giving is no longer just about trying to make someone happy anymore. Instead, everyone wants exactly what they ask for on their Christmas list and refuse to accept anything less. I wish we could go back to the good old days where I could give away things I don’t like to others without conflict, especially a box of chocolates that still had basically 90 percent of the chocolates in there.
Counterpoint: I Gave You That Box of Chocolates Two Days Ago
By Darryl Dupt
Resentful Recipient
I’d first like to make a point that re-gifting is not necessarily a bad thing. Heck, I re-gifted a beautiful snow globe I got from a friend four years ago to my great-aunt Helen because she loves collecting them, and I frankly don’t care for them very much.
In this case though, you gave me back a really expensive box of Belgian chocolates that I got for you after my vacation in Brussels. That was cold. It’s not like you didn’t like them either — you literally ate half of the box. Not only did you forget who gave the chocolates to you, but you didn’t even bother to check if the box was opened.
In any other circumstance, I would have loved to receive some fancy chocolate for Christmas since, as you surprisingly know, I am obsessed with chocolatiers and the process of chocolate-making. Actually, if you had given me literally anything else, I would have been super gracious even if I didn’t like it. However, your “gift” of used chocolates was frankly a flub, and I hope next time you at least make sure not to re-gift trash to the person that gave it to you in the first place. Then again, maybe I’m expecting too much from a guy who re-gifted his engagement ring as an anniversary present to his wife.
Steven Zhou was made in Canada and designed in California. He tolerates writing and has been occasionally funny since 2016.
