What to do with the gifts you don’t want?

Before I go ahead and talk about what do to with the Christmas gifts you got but don’t want, let me emphasize that I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you’ve enjoyed being in the company of your loved ones and friends and that even if you did get a gift that you didn’t need, want or already had, that you cherished the thought that the person who gave it to you had, because in the end it’s the thought that counts!

So yes, I'm starting off the new year with a subject related to Christmas because for the first time in my life it happened… not once but three times; I've got gifts of stuff that I already have. The first was a sound bar which I had bought for myself this summer, the second gift was a suitcase because that person knew that I was going on trip, but I had just bought myself suitcases a couple weeks before Christmas and the last one was a Starfrit veggy cutter thingy that I had gotten for myself two months ago.

So what do you do when you get a gift that you don’t want?

It’s clear that you don't want to be rude and leave the gift with the person that gave it to you. Yet, I’m not the kind of person to keep my tongue in my pocket and say nothing at all either, so I do mention that I already have something alike but that their gift is better and I keep the gift. But once I get home, what am I supposed to do with that extra something that I now have?

Here are three things you can do:

• Give it away: I have pre-adult teens so I guess that helps a little, seeing as they often need things for their first apartment, so whatever I have extra I can just give to them. You can also keep the gift, wrap it up with different paper if need be and give it back to someone at a different party that you're going to later in the year or as Hostess gift whenever you're invited to someone’s house (if it's not too big of a gift)

• Sell it: Nowadays there's numerous places online where you can sell things: Kijiji, Ebay, LesPacs, etc.

• Goodwill: You can bring it at a goodwill organization or family counter such as the salvation army or your local community center, so that the less fortunate can benefit from the said gift.

I want to end this article on a little piece of advice; Christmas has become very commercialized, everything is store bought, in a hurry pretty much all the time, where has the magic of Christmas gone?

This year, I made some of the gifts that I was giving and you know what, it was the best part of my Christmas! Bonus: it’s pretty rare to make someone for someone and that they already have the exact same thing. What you make is always very unique. I think the moral of the story is this: if you want to have the very best of Christmas or party; go on Pinterest and look for something TO MAKE.

May you have an excellent 2017! I wish you all the very best may your days and gifts be unique, appreciated and enjoyed!

By Jasmine Beausoleil