"Regifting" ;

Besides charity shops women's refuges appreciate toiletries. In some areas the police appreciate 'First Night' items. These are to tide over families who have had to suddenly leave home. Besides toiletries, wet wipes, shampoo, hairbrushes, hair clips/bands, toothpaste and toothbrushes items for children are needed. Colouring books, crayons, puzzles, small toys, anything to occupy and distract them from a confusing situation really. Nightwear too, your local police should be able to advise about this scheme, it's to help people feel a little more in control before social services can help out.

I re-gift things occasionally. If I receive something that is very nice but not really 'me' I either re-gift it to someone who I think might like it (making sure it's not the person who gave it to me) or take it to the charity shop.

hamster111 that is a good idea - however (and *I am sure no Gransnetter would ever fail to check*) I wish people would make sure before they donate unwanted gifts for raffle prizes that they are in date! SIL has 'won' out of date chocolates, I 're-gifted' a lovely 'notebook' still in its cellophane wrapping to DD that I won in a Christmas raffle, only to find her laughing because it was a last year's diary, and I won (was handed rather than chose) a bashed-up box containing half a candle set that was only fit for the bin!!
All in a good cause I suppose.

DD put a note in her parcel to us that read...
We all know about regifting but I bet you haven't seen repackaging
She had used the box and outer wrapping that we sent to her and SO. The wrapping was from a delivery we received, very economical.

My husband and I send each other the same Christmas card each year . I'm not a huge fan of Christmas cards so think it's a good way to save a penny or two rather than pay a fortune for something we throw away.

My Gran used to buy £1 gift vouchers ( when a £1 was worth something ;-) ) , they came in free card , so we all got a card and a £1. I think she was onto something!

If anyone has received presents they neither want or can re-use, please give them to your local charity to sell on , or use for raffle prizes, they are always wanted. I volunteer in a Hospice and raffle prizes are always needed, so do your good deed for the New Year.

We had the same wedding anniversary card for years. We kept it on our narrowboat as we were usually there for July 23rd Not sure what happened to it when we sold the boat?

I think that's nice, nanapug. My sister-in-law and her late husband used to do that as well, and used to add wee bits to the messages in the cards as the years wore on.

My OH and I have one birthday card that we send to each other each birthday. Each time we put the date on and a short message. It sounds as if we are meanies but we actually got the idea from a relative and find it quite fun.

I ran out of 'new' Christmas cards this year so used some of last years 'new' ones and hoped that I hadn't sent them to the same person [not that they'd remember]. Strangely enough a friend sent me a card that was so 'me' I phoned her up to see if she had any more the same as I desperately wanted to send one to someone else. She had unearthed the card from last year thinking that it might suit me; seemed quite chuffed when I said I'd been googling it in the hope of buying another and that I'd photocopied it with a view to framing it.

I think that proves my point .

I was unaware that I had sent the same card to DD three years in a row until she mentioned that she had received the same card again... I must have really like it to have bought the same card 3 times

Y'know I think that card idea is a good one, especially if and when you find a card that is quite special for that particular person [and you know you'll never better it]. Mind you, I do save my favourite cards [have done so for years] so that would scupper that. My cousin has cards sent to various family members going back to the early 1900's and that's what made me start saving them.

My grandmother who died 40 years ago had it down to a fine art. She was a minimalist by nature and had little spare cash. Most presents were received with gracious thanks, then stowed away in a cupboard dated with the name of the sender. They could then be 'regifted' and few people ever caught on.

Her son - my father - rather took things to extreme though. His birthday card to my mother was one which had 'to my darling wife' on. He never signed it. He would then sneak it back after the day and hide it away. He had two or three cards which were alternated for several years before mum caught on!