AD – This is a collaborative post // Everyone’s taste is different, which is why most stores allow couples to create a wish list from which friends and family can purchase gifts. This makes things easier for everyone as there are no hard feelings and no need to return unwanted items.
Photo by Kelly Jean on Unsplash
While this is a widely known and accepted practice, some guests choose to go rogue with their own gift ideas that may not suit your taste. What’s a newlywed to do? Here are several tips to help you delicately deal with unwanted wedding gifts:
1. Always Send a Thank You Card
You’re never required to keep any gifts you receive that you can’t use or don’t want, but you should always say thank you for every gift you receive. Whether you get one of the cool induction cookware sets you had listed on your registry or you receive The Bellamy Brothers Greatest Hits on CD (and you don’t even like country music), it costs nothing to be polite and thank the giver for thinking of you on your big day.
2. Return the Gift
Hopefully, the gift giver had the presence of mind to get a gift receipt when they purchased the item. This makes it super-easy to return unwanted gifts to the store for a refund or exchange.
Even if you don’t have a receipt, you should still be able to return the item to the store (assuming you know where it came from) for an exchange or store credit. Simply explain the situation – you don’t have a receipt because it was a gift – and you’ll soon be on your way to owning something that’s more your style.
3. The Re-Gift
Many people think re-gifting is in poor taste, but if you don’t have to tell anyone, so who’s going to know? Perhaps you couldn’t use a waffle maker, but maybe your Uncle Jack could. Just wrap it up and slap his name on it, and that’s one Christmas gift you won’t have to worry about this year.
4. Sell the Gift
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so why not see if someone else can use that extra Keurig you got as a wedding gift?
You can try the big sites like eBay or Craigslist for selling your unwanted gifts, but small local groups on Facebook’s marketplace often garner better results. Just be careful with the latter suggestion. If the giver is a friend of yours on Facebook, the For Sale post might show up in their newsfeed, which could result in a very awkward moment.
5. Donate the Gift
While this tip won’t make you any money or earn you an item you can actually use, charity is its own reward. If you can’t sell the item or you don’t want to take the time to return it, you can always donate your unwanted items to a thrift store. There, the item will likely be snapped up on the cheap by someone more than happy to have it in their home.
Before you haul all the unwanted spoils from your wedding to your nearest Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul, give them a call first to see if they can use the items you intend to get rid of. It’s possible the store may not want another food processor since they already have a dozen or so sitting on the shelf.
With every wedding comes at least one or two unwanted gifts from well-meaning guests. Use the suggestions above to delicately deal with these items.