Ways to recycle the ugly gifts you received

Let's not kid ourselves: Every year at Christmas we get unwanted presents pressed into our hands. This is also confirmed by a survey conducted by Swg for Deliveroo in 2022: one in three Italians are unhappy with the Christmas presents they receive, a figure that rises to 43% in the Millennial group. For example, 24% of those who found a hamster-shaped cushion or a mug with Aunt Mary as an elf under the tree took action to sort them out; among the youngest Generation Z, the percentage rises to 41%. On the list of most unwanted gifts are perfumes (15%), accessories such as scarves and gloves (13%), candles and room fragrances (11%), scarves or costume jewellery (9%), men's ties and purses (8%) and the classic Christmas jumper (4%). Regifting, the art of recycling gifts, is no longer a taboo, but a custom, even a practise that can be virtuous if handled well. Why should we stuff ourselves with reindeer socks, toasters, silver plate frames and cactus-shaped key rings when we can let all these things find a new life and a new home? So on 26 December, after thanking our cousin Gelsomina with a big grin for a macramé doily (because we're polite and never want to upset her), when we have a small collection of "horrors" that we don't want to keep in the drawer, G-Club suggests some ideas on how to recycle Christmas presents intelligently, without waste and without guilt.

Return

To prevent potential disasters when exchanging Christmas presents, many shops offer a courtesy receipt when buying a gift. If we found this in the parcel along with the unwanted gift, the easiest thing to do is to go to the shop and exchange it for something we like or, if possible, a voucher of the same value to spend in the future.

Donate to someone else

Before we throw away the hot air fryer and the ginseng bubble bath, we ask ourselves: would someone else we know enjoy these gifts? Yes, you know: any gift that is bad for us could be greatly appreciated by someone else in our circle of acquaintances. So if we have a cookery-loving colleague with a birthday coming up, we could give them this gift. In this case, there are a few tricks you should bear in mind. Before you keep it in the drawer and wait for the right date, stick a post-it note on it with the name of the person who gave it to you so that you don't have the embarrassment of tragically returning it to the sender. If there's a label on it, don't peel it off so it looks like you just bought it from the shop. Also check that the packaging is intact and original and that the wrapping paper is appropriate for the occasion. No snowmen in July.

Resell online

Do we want to make a small profit on the polka dot tights, the electric razor, the velvet mini dress three sizes bigger or any other of the gifts we've received but which don't suit our taste? Then let's put them up for sale online. We can opt for one of the many resale or second-hand platforms such as Vinted, Depop, Grailed, Subito, Wallapop or the classic marketplaces of Facebook and eBay. There are also apps such as Swapick, Shpock, a kind of virtual flea market that offers geolocalised ads to meet buyers near us, or Xtribe, a geomarketplace that allows us to sell, buy, rent and exchange products and services with people close to us. If we don't want to tell Uncle Ernesto that we want to resell the Christmas present he gave us, we can create ad hoc accounts on many of these websites and apps to disguise our identity.

Do charity

We don't want to sell or keep, but we don't want to throw away unwanted gifts either. There is another option: donate them to charity. There are many organisations, such as Caritas, that look after people in need or those in distress, or put goods that are still useful back into circulation. This is an ethical and useful decision, especially when it comes to clothing, toiletries or other basic necessities. There are also hospitals and solidarity organisations that collect pre-wrapped gifts.

Swapping with friends

It is possible to combine useful things with fun. We can organise a swap party with friends, a party under the banner of sustainability, where we swap clothes and items that we don't want, but which might be real little treasures for Lucia and Andrea. Between chats and perhaps a few snacks, we'll spend a few happy hours and also get rid of the lampshade with tassels. Alternatively, we can also organise an Evil Secret Santa, a kind of raffle in which all participants win a mysterious ugly gift that is drawn at random or raffled off like bingo numbers.