'Tis better to re-gift than receive.

I'm not gonna lie, I have re-gifted a time or two. I'm not ashamed. We're in a recession, and I'm a stay-at-home mom on a budget. It's part of my "job" to help our family cut costs where we can. So, if I receive a gift that I cannot use, I try and find a new home for it. Recently, the whistle was blown on my attempt to stick to our ever-growing Christmas list which is already over-budget.

Her Highness carried a nice package to school on the day of her class Christmas party for her super sweet first grade teacher. When I picked her up from school that day, I learned that my cover had been blown.

"Did your teacher like her present?" I asked, as Her Highness bounced into the van.
Excitedly she replied, "Oh, YES! And when she opened it I told her that somebody gave it to my Mommy when she had the baby, but we really wanted HER to have it instead!"
I nearly rear ended the mini-van ahead of me, as I squealed, "You did not!!" Realizing she had committed a social crime, Her Highness stammered back, "What? Why shouldn't I have told her that?"

Her bottom lip poked out as I explained why we weren't supposed to tell the origin of gifts, especially those that are re-gifted. She then defended herself, "But Momma. She doesn't care! All she said to me after I told her was, 'Oh, I love you!' then she laughed and hugged me!"

Embarrassed, I called Bert to inform him of our social mishap. We both laughed, extremely hard, then agreed that Her Highness probably thought re-gifting was more special than buying something new because she would never give away something that was new to her. At least not before she had a chance to use it first.

I'm sure I was the bud of the joke in the teacher's lounge that afternoon.
I asked my Mother that evening if any of her students had ever openly admitted to re-gifting. Her response was simply, "Honey, they didn't have to."