Island Life Magazine Ltd December/January 2018 | Page 41

Notebook
Who’d have thought it?
Apparently the first rule is never to talk
about the unwanted gift to the giver. In fact,
no matter how much an iffy present might
offend your sensibilities or sense of style, a
thank you letter must always be sent.
Having said that, the second rule of
receiving unwanted gifts is that “you should
not feel bad about disposing of them as
swiftly as possible”.
It’s here that you have a choice:
You can, of course, place it in a dedicated
family present cupboard – which can
then become your own future store for
emergency presents. Invaluable if you ever
get an unexpected party invite or an extra
guest turns up for the holiday festivities.
The main danger with this ‘re-gifting’ tactic,
of course, is that you end up giving someone
the unwanted present they originally gave
you. So do be sure to keep a log of the who,
when and what has changed hands.
Sounds complicated? That’s because this
gift-buying business is! If you have scruples,
then perhaps a more honourable approach
is to give away your reject gifts to the charity
shop or local raffle, and let them benefit
somebody else. For the fact is that while that
grotesque dinosaur onesie, garish bobble
hat or novelty cufflinks might not exactly
float your boat, they could be just the thing
somebody else has been looking for.
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