Give It Again, Sam

I found myself bopping to the Beatles-like tune and these lyrics depicting a cash-strapped holiday shopper: "As I sat looking in my room, my eyes spied a sweater from Aunt Sue. The idea hit me like a boot to the head. Gonna give that sweater to my cousin Ted."

With a sense of humor, the chorus goes, "I'm regifting for the holidays. I'm packing up all that crap, adding new wrap and giving it back to you."

Of course, you wouldn't give something you thought was junk. But to illustrate the good and bad of regifting, Money Management is running a contest looking for the best regifting tales. Entries are due by Dec. 31.

First place will get you a $500 Amazon gift card and a "Regifting Robin" bobblehead, specially created by the agency. In total, Money Management is giving away $1,235 in prizes, including Amazon gift cards. Winners are selected by Web site visitors who vote for their favorite regifting story.

In one entry this year, a contestant said she and her husband received as a wedding present a "hideous serving platter" from one of her husband's clients. The couple regifted the platter to a friend, who took it to an "Antiques Roadshow."

"It was then we realized we had given away a small fortune," she wrote.

Turns out the platter was made by a famous Italian glassware designer. Its estimated value: $2,000.

Just proves one person's trashed gift is another's treasure.

If you don't want to be someone else's regifting horror story, try some of my favorite regifting ideas:

¿ Regift an unused gift card. It's easy to regift this item since it's just plastic money. However, before you pass along your gift card, be sure to double-check the value and that the card is still usable.