How to Re-Gift Your Kid’s Christmas Present Without Getting Caught

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/YouTube

The 19th toy police car with a wailing siren might be bearable. And perhaps you’re overreacting about that BB gun? But chances are your child will get a holiday gift (or 10) that you’ll never want to see again. Fear not. “It’s perfectly acceptable to re-gift presents,” says etiquette expert and owner of the Protocol School of Palm Beach, Jacqueline Whitmore, “if you do it well.” Whitmore and another expert who literally wrote the book on the subject — Jodi Newbern, author of “Re-gifting Revival!: A Guide to Reusing Gifts Graciously” — tell Yahoo Parenting all you need to know to pull it off like a pro.

1. Sneak Off With the Gift.
If you can tell from the shape that Uncle Jake has sent your 5-year-old another violent video game, intercept it before your child even sees it. Then replace the present with something else so he doesn’t know he’s been duped. “That’s the ideal scenario,” Newbern tells Yahoo Parenting. But you can still whisk something away from young kids after they’ve ripped off the wrapping paper — if you act quickly.

STORY: Does Your Child Have Too Many Toys?

“On Christmas children usually pick out one thing to play with for 10 minutes then move on and don’t remember exactly what they got,” Newbern explains. “While they’re distracted with something else, slip the offending gift off to the side and hide it.” It’s not even a big deal if they’ve opened and played with it as long as you grab the packaging too.

You can be more direct with older children. “Talk with them about how all these gifts is too much at once,” Whitmore says. “Say, ‘Let’s play with this present for now and later I’m going to put a few things aside so I can give you a special thing once a week.’ That way the child forgets what he got over time and you don’t have to dole all of them back out.”

STORY: How to Handle the Birthday Gift Bonanza

2. Con the Giver Too.
Out-of-town grandparents don’t need to know that your tween daughter despises the denim purse they sent, so you — and she — decided to give it away. “Acknowledge the gift and say that it’s appreciated,” instructs Whitmore. “Whether she actually uses it or not is beside the point.” Pre-empt followup on it by taking a photo of the tween holding the gift and include that picture with a thank you note. “Chances are the grandparents won’t feel a need to check up on how she liked it!” Newbern notes.

3. Keep a gift closet.
As soon as you squirrel each item away, stash it. “My mom used to hide presents in the trunk of her car!” Whitmore admits. Any closet or high shelf away from curious snoops will do. Then, when you have time alone, repackage, rewrap, and inventory each item for re-gifting. “Keep a list of what each thing is, when you got it, who gave it, and what the occasion was,” instructs Newbern. That way you can be sure you don’t give something back to the person who gave it to you, or to anyone in his or her circle.

What happens if your child recognizes the gift you snuck away from him when his friend opens it? “Just say, ‘Yeah, you had one just like that!’” says Newbern. “With kids, that’s just a momentary issue. They won’t dwell on it like adults would.”

4. Wait a While to Unload.
“Hold off at least a year on re-gifting a present,” Whitmore advises. That gives you enough time to really feel like you can pass it off as a new gift. Plus, after that long, she adds, “most people will forget what they gave your child anyway so if you’ve slipped up and re-gifted to someone close to the giver, they’re less likely to realize it.”

5. Turn It Into a Good Deed.
It’s not always a bad thing to involve kids in the re-gifting, the experts agree. “It’s actually an opportunity to teach a child a lesson about sharing,” says Whitmore. “Tell him, ‘You have 20 race cars. Why don’t you pick one of them and give it to another child?’ Then let him wrap it and present the gift to someone. You’re teaching him to give back.”

Extend the giving to Goodwill or Toys for Tots, and Newbern says you’re planting the seed for a lifetime of philanthropy. “Start them out early enough, and giving becomes something they’ll do not just for Christmas but for the rest of their lives, as a way of life,” she notes. Just don’t brag about it to the person who gave you the gift in the first place!