Don’t regift to the original giver

The experts agree: You have to be organized and smart to regift, but it can be done.

If the giver was gracious enough to include a gift receipt, feel free to exchange the gift for something you would rather have.

Keep in mind that just as you don't want to waste your money, neither does the gift giver.

But don't rush to the store as soon as the holidays are over, unless you're close enough with the giver to understand their level of comfort with returned gifts.

"My rule of thumb is to keep the gift for at least one month just in case you happen to have the person over, and they ask to see it," Sheila Keast, certified etiquette specialist said.

But yes, you can save a little dough this season and still ring true with the thought behind a gift even if you shop for it in your spare bedroom.

How do you avoid the biggest faux pas of regifting? It requires the forethought to plan when you receive the unwanted gift.

"The secret to regifting is to tape a note on the gift with the date, the name of the person and the event where it was given and never regift it to people in that group," said Florozeen Rand Gray, a certified protocol and etiquette specialist in Las Vegas.

The trick is to make sure the person who gave you the gift never knows you've given it away to someone else. And surely, never regift to the person who gave you the gift.

But, right now, you've got this gift, and you don't want it and you want to pass it on.

Be sure to rewrap the gift, make sure all price tags are removed and there are no remnants of name tags, especially if it's still sitting in a gift bag.

Be sure that if you've decided to pass along something you just can't use that you're thoughtful and discriminate about who it should go to.

Don't give that DVD to grandma who doesn't have a DVD player, or that ugly, size small sweater to your sister who wears a large.

If they can't use it either, they'll be stuck shoving it on a shelf until next year when they can regift it to someone else who won't appreciate it.

What's the easiest way to avoid this regifting dance? Be the kind of giver who wants the recipient to have something they will enjoy and use.

"A gift receipt is a must as that means you're giving the recipient permission to return or exchange it," Keast said.

There is one exception: You're never allowed to regift a handmade present. That blanket, even if you're not fond of it, needs to stay in the spare bedroom. Or that sweater hand-knitted with your grandmother's frail hands needs to be accessible when she wants to see it.

Besides, one day, those handmade gifts might be the best reminders of the people who you love most.

In the end, know your audience and your giver. If they wouldn't mind you passing it along to someone, go right ahead. If you'd be more than slightly embarrassed, think twice.