No Gift, is sometimes the Best Gift

Since I got rid of all of my stuff, I am trying hard to not accumulate "things".

My friends and family know this, and as much as I love them, I really do not want to receive presents. It has taken some time, and sometimes I still get stuff, but slowly they are adapting.

If I go to a party where everyone is in the habit of exchanging gifts, I now bring boxes of chocolate. I assume they can pass it on to someone else, or at least open it up around Christmas so their friends and family can enjoy.

One year I got the exact same box of chocolates I gave someone else. I started wondering how old these chocolates might be.

This article kinda confirms my suspicion.

Unwanted gifts sold on-line or re-gifted

A growing number of consumers are turning to the Internet to dispose of gifts they don't want, according to a survey sponsored by eBay Inc.

The San Jose, Calif.-based online auction company (NASDAQ: EBAY) said more than four in five (83 percent) of those it asked said they receive unwanted items and almost half (46 percent) of those adults resell or give the unwanted gift to someone else as a gift.

Of those who have sold their gifts online in the past, more than half (54 percent) of U.S. adults plan to do so again this year, compared to 45 percent last year.

EBay found differences in what people said they would resell and what they would re-gift.

The most popular items adults who took the survey said they would re-gift include wine, champagne or spirits (21 percent); trinkets or collectibles (21 percent); beauty or bath products (21 percent); DVDs, CDs or books (16 percent); electronics/appliances (14 percent); and fruitcake (14 percent).

The most popular items adults resell online include personal electronics (12 percent); DVDs, CDs or books (11 percent); home technology (10 percent); event tickets (10 percent); trinkets or collectibles (8 percent); and sporting or fitness equipment (6 percent).

EBay said the survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive between Nov. 11 and Nov. 13 among 2,033 U.S. adults age 18 and older, of whom 1,013 have re-gifted and 210 have resold gifts online.

In these lean times, I think more people should adopt the idea that less is more.

I'll be posting ideas for cheap gifts in the next few days, for those of you who have not yet learned to "just say no", as in "no gifts please".