To regift or not to regift? Ah, the age-old question. We have Seinfeld to thank for originating the term, which has even been given its own day – National Regifting Day, on the third Thursday of December. Despite its growing popularity – not to mention, practicality – the question remains: Is regifting truly a permissible practice?

There is undoubtedly both a right and wrong way to go about regifting, and we’ve compiled a short list of things to mull over before carrying through with the act. So before you re-wrap that used coffeemaker your friend got you for Christmas last year, take a look at these foolproof guidelines.

One man’s trash is (not always) another man’s treasure

Is the prospective regift new or unopened? Have you used it a couple times before dubbing it irrelevant to your needs? Is this something the receiver would want, or something you would buy for her anyway? It’s important to make sure that the regift in question actually makes sense to give to the potential receiver. In other words, don’t give away a shitty gift just because it’s shitty.

Decide whether or not you want the regift to be a secret

This is a key point to consider if you want to prevent worlds from colliding, so to speak. Will the person who originally gave you the gift in question be present when you regift the thing to someone else? Will he be upset when he witnesses you regifting something he gave you? If you want to keep the regifting a secret, make sure that no one present at the time you first received the gift will be there. Or at least make sure they won’t tell.

Rewrap the regift

Rewrapping the regift means unwrapping it first. This is absolutely essential because, believe it or not, there are people out there who will regift something having absolutely no idea what the gift is to begin with. And if you are one of these people, now might be a good time to go back to step one. Make sure all price tags have been cut or scratched off of the regift, and even if the original wrapping paper is winsome, wrap it in something of your own. You know, for a more personal touch.