‘I think it lacks the personal touch’
Tracey Horner, 53, runs the antipoverty initiative Lendwithcare and lives in Godalming, Surrey For me, gifts should come from a place of love, not obligation. If I’m buying someone a present, I like to think about their personality and what they’d actually like or find useful. Simply passing on your unwanted stuff is not a proper gift, as it lacks the personal touch. My husband was once given a watch as a present, but in the box was a repair receipt, which told us this was not the first time this watch had been worn, and we soon discovered it was regifted. He didn’t mind, but it really irritated me. We’d put a lot of thought into the gifts we gave, only for my husband to be given an unwanted present in return. In my opinion, regifting is a Christmas crime – not only is it dishonest, it can be very hurtful to the recipient, as well as the person who gave the original gift, if they were to find out. Instead, people should do something positive with their unwanted gifts, like give them to a charity. l Visit lendwithcare.org and buy a gift voucher so the recipient can choose who to help out of poverty