Shhhhh.... quiet now... over here....

That's right ... shhhhh.... let's be very quiet about this next topic... but know that we have all been there at some point in our life.  Be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Birthday, Anniversary, or simply a gesture of good will from another... we have all been the recipient of sometimes the "unwanted present".  Yes that's right, I dared to say it... unwanted present.

If you've gotten this far in your life never to have received a duplicate, or worse yet horrible simply not appropriate present, you are indeed very lucky and should probably go play the powerball Lotto.

With that pretense out of the way, the question always seems to come up post holiday as to what to do with unwanted holiday gifts.  With that in mind, and because most folks are too polite to speak of this with family and friends (let's face it, none of us want to hurt another person's feelings by expressing we didn't just love that golf sweater Aunt Joni purchased for us, or that blender we received at a bridal shower, right along with 10 other similar blenders) the reality still remains the same... sometimes we have gifts that we can't use, don't like, or otherwise don't know how to dispose of.

Here are some suggestions on how to handle just that situation.

Return the item: If you are fortunate enough to have a gift receipt or other receipt, return the item for store credit or cash.  This is always your first and best option for dealing with an unwanted present.

Re-Selling:  If you aren't able to return, perhaps you know of someone who is looking for the item that you have and is about to go purchase it.  Rather than them purchasing from a store, perhaps they would be willing to purchase the item from you.  Allowing them the much wanted item and you the much wanted cash.  Or if you don't know of someone you can always use sites such as ebay, craigs list, or local groups on sites such as Facebook or twitter, to sell your wares.

Donation:  You can always bank some karma bucks by donating the duplicate or unwanted items to a local charity.  So many charities are looking for all sorts of items and are happy to take new never used items off your hands.

Re-gifting:  This idea does not sit well with me personally, but there are certainly plenty of folks  who utilize this option... the re-gift.  This is where you wrap it up and give it to another unsuspecting individual.  Plenty of people like the re-gifting option so perhaps it works for you.

If none of the above suit your needs, then you could always put it to the curb (I never recommend simply holding onto an unwanted item as your home may then resemble an episode from hoarders).  I'm fairly certain if you don't want to take the time to donate the item that your trash man may very well find a use for the item even if he only donates or sells it himself.

I also recommend in order to avoid the problem of duplicate presents, especially when it comes to things like baby showers, bridal showers, grooms parties, go ahead and register somewhere so that people know the things you need, like, and desire.  This saves everyone a lot of time and effort and the need to do any of the above becomes unnecessary.

So whatever your situation, I hope the above is helpful this holiday season and that your holidays are merry and bright.