Smiles at the ready...
We've all been there. On Christmas morning, Grandma hands you an intriguing parcel which holds so much promise. It's soft, large, the paper is crinkling expensively - maybe it's that cashmere jumper you asked for. And then you open it, and it turns out to be an enormous, hand-knitted red scarf, and red just isn't your colour.
Every year, most of us will receive a couple of presents which we really don't want. Most of us just crank up a smile and wear/use/display whatever it is that we've been given, before relegating it to the back of the wardrobe until Grandma's next visit.
But you needn't waste those unwanted gifts. Some of them can be used in surprising ways...
Pass it on
The first rule of gift recycling states that if you don't want something, someone else will. People will buy virtually anything.
Famously, the very first item sold on eBay was a worthless, broken laser pointer. Since then, all kinds of surprisingly useless stuff, from haunted paintings to cinnamon buns that look like Mother Teresa, have not only sold, but also made their vendors a lot of cash. And remember: the more work you put into talking your item up, the more you'll get for it.
Alternatively, you can do your bit and give the gift to a charity shop. No financial reward here, but instead a sense that you're doing some good. This helpful charity shop finder will help you locate one near where you live. Two pieces of advice - don't choose a shop near where the person who gave you the present lives and have a handy excuse as to why it isn't around when they next visit ("it spontaneously combusted" and "it was destroyed by termites" are our two favourites).
Find an alternative use for it
Everyone wants to be able to invent something which will get them onto Dragon's Den, and there's no excuse for getting the creative juices flowing like an unwanted gift.
Can it be used for anything else? Maybe that jumper could be unravelled and turned into warm, durable hamster bedding. Perhaps the fake elephant's foot umbrella stand could be used as part of some kind of weird, surreal fancy dress costume.
You'll need an excuse as to why the antique door stopper that Aunt Agnes gave you is lying in the toilet cistern saving water every time you flush, but with a bit of thought we're sure you can come up with something.
