Some people find it rude or stingy to give unwanted gifts away. Others, on the other hand, consider it a form of recycling, where an item may still fall into the right hands and can be put to good use. However, you must be careful when re-gifting so that nobody notices. If you keep the following principles in mind, you can re-gift gifts that are less useful to you without anyone noticing and without having a guilty conscience.

Gift recycling without a guilty conscience

1. pay attention to quality. Don't give away any nasty, low-quality or damaged goods. You can give away what you already have in abundance or what you don't have but the recipient of the gift might find a good use for. 

2. the right gift for the right person. The style, taste or type of use should match the recipient. Don't just give things away to get rid of them. 

3. check the gift for tell-tale signs. Anything that indicates that the gift is being recycled should be removed. If you can't remove all signs, it's better to keep the item. Nothing is more embarrassing than the recipient realising that they have been given a used item.

4. do not give food as a gift. Wine or liqueur can make a good gift, provided the bottle is dusted off beforehand. But don't give old chocolate or expired goods. 

5. do not give any conspicuous objects. The recipient may still remember when you unwrapped the gift in front of them. You can only re-gift such items if you are absolutely sure that the recipient was not at your party.

6. do not give any handicrafts or homemade items as gifts. Even if you think the purple woollen hat crocheted by your mother-in-law is hideous, it was meant for you personally. It is very hurtful if you are caught giving away a personalised gift of this kind. So you should never pass on unique, homemade works of art, no matter how ugly.

7. recycled gifts should be appropriate to the age and gender of the person. Granddad is unlikely to be interested in a second-hand PSP and your niece won't be interested in a photo album. As a rule, men's enthusiasm for scented candles is also rather limited and women usually don't find coffee cups with lewd remarks funny. So make sure that recycled gifts, toys, CDs and computer games are given to the right person.

8. no gift recycling with children. Children immediately trumpet it when they recognise the present you received the previous year. What's more, we don't want to teach children that they can simply wrap their old toys in wrapping paper and give them away at random.

9. keep an overview. Some items can become a travelling trophy and be passed from hand to hand. You don't want to be caught giving your sister-in-law the same gift that her husband gave you last year. If you plan on hoarding a collection of potentially recyclable items in your closet, write a note about each item before it comes.

10. gift recycling with brains. Don't shy away from passing on good items in a meaningful way. It would be a shame if all the gifts that were still usable but not used ended up in the rubbish bin when someone else could still use them. The important thing is to recycle your gifts skilfully and intelligently. Respect the recipient's taste, needs and interests.