Holiday Humor: Regifting Tragedies

 CouponCabin.com recently conducted its annual awkward gift giving survey. A few main takeaways:

- 39% of U.S. adults have re-gifted an item, in-line with 41% who said the same in 2011.
- It’s fairly easy to get away with re-gifting, or perhaps re-gifters are rarely confronted; less than one-in-ten (8 percent) of those who have ever re-gifted said they have been caught doing so.
- Expired BBQ sauce, a jar of hemorrhoid pads and a used fanny pack top the list of most awkward gifts this year.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether or not an item you receive is, in fact, a re-gifted one. Nearly one-third (32 percent) have, to the best of their knowledge, received a re-gifted item. This is down slightly from the 35 percent who said the same in last year’s survey.

“Re-gifting can be a savvy way to save money on holiday gifts as long as it’s done with care,” said Jackie Warrick, President and Chief Savings Officer at CouponCabin.com. “Make sure the gift is appropriate for the person you’re giving it to and all signs of its previous gift status, like cards and wrapping paper, are removed. With a little bit of foresight, re-gifting can help offset the ever-growing holiday gift list.”

No matter who people are buying gifts for this holiday season, re-gifting and awkward gift moments are likely to happen. When asked what was the most awkward gift they have ever given or received, a random sampling of U.S. adults said the following:

*Bag of dog food. I have a cat.
*Belt buckle. Not a belt, just a buckle.
*A boyfriend of one month bought me an engagement ring that I turned down.
*Three expired bottles of barbecue sauce.
*A giant box of condoms from my mother, who said she didn’t want grandchildren any time soon.
*Handcrafted green leather purse shaped like a teapot.
*Jar of hemorrhoid pads.
*Single, plain white dishcloth.
*Gift card with zero balance on it.
*Picture frames with other people’s kids in them.
*Glow-in-the-dark handcuffs.
*A pair of hockey goalie gloves, but I don’t play hockey.
*A once-live jellyfish in a glass container with hardened liquid.
*A used fanny pack with a boot print on it.
*My good friend gave me a framed picture of her and her husband.

Survey Methodology:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Coupon Cabin from November 27th - 29th, 2012, among 2,249 adults ages 18 and older, the 2011 survey was conducted online from November 3-7, 2011 among 2,574 US adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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