Christmas is now, officially, a thing of the past for 2014. Sometimes, after opening presents and eating far too much on Christmas day, people realize a sad fact: their Christmas gifts aren’t that great. Usually, that’s not anyone’s fault. In fact, it can just be a combination of bad luck, bad communication, and a very busy year.
Don’t worry, though! There are a few things you can do to make a pile of so-so gifts into a positive gift-receiving experience.
1. Exchange them.
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If you come to the customer service kiosk in most stores with an unwanted gift from that store, you can exchange the gift for something else. You can also receive store credit. You can make that unwanted gift into something that you wanted.
2. Get gift receipts.
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Most people include these receipts with gifts if they aren’t sure you will enjoy them. These people are angels. They take away the awkwardness of asking for the receipt. You can go back to the store and get the money they spent on the ugly shirt you’ll never wear. Thanks for the $47.50, grandma!
3. Sell them.
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If you’ve exhausted most options to get your money back or to exchange the gifts, you could get money the old fashioned way. Sell your gifts in a yard sale or put it up on eBay. It’s way better than just having that blender collect dust in your basement. Hopefully, you can get some kind of value out of it.
4. Partake in post-holiday sales.
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There are usually a ton of sales after the holidays. Stores are fully stocked for Christmas and expected to sell more things than they actually did. What happens next? The supply is high and the demand is low. Henceforth, the post-holiday sales.
5. Donate them to Toys for Tots.
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This Marine-run organization is always looking for people to donate unused toys so they can be given to less fortunate children around Christmas. Any donation is appreciated, and you will feel like a better person by donating your crappy gift that might bring joy to someone else.
6. Swear revenge.
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It feels a little personal if you keep getting awful gifts from a particular person. Are they doing this on purpose? Is there ill-will implied? Just jump to that conclusion and swear revenge on them for next Christmas. Make sure you keep a diabolical plan to get them an even worse present that they will probably hate. That way, if it isn’t personal, you just made it personal.
7. Re-gift.
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Don’t give it back to the person who gave it to you; that’s a dumb move. If you know someone who would really enjoy the Crock Pot your aunt just got you, there should be no shame in giving the Crock Pot to them. It’s economical, and you were never going to use it anyway, so why not get some kind of use out of it?
8. Trade with someone else in your family.
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Let’s say you get an iPad, but you already have an iPad. You also notice that your sister got a DVD you really wanted that she doesn’t want. Trade your iPad for that sweet DVD. That way everyone is happy!
9. Give it to Goodwill.
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You get to use this as a tax write-off, and the bad gift will potentially serve a purpose for someone else. Win-win.
10. Burn them.
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Once you’ve exhausted all options, you could just burn all of your crappy presents. I don’t think there is anything more cathartic than burning something. Watching something crappy burn is super satisfying and well worth it. It is cleansing to watch a bad gift burn.
If you were on the receiving end of a crappy gift this Christmas, worry not. There are still plenty of things you can do with them that will be useful and serve a purpose. Don’t just bury the bad gifts in your basement and let them sit there for 10 years before their eventual trip to the dumpster. All gifts have value, and make sure you get the most out of them (by any means necessary).
