(This is the second guest post by Ryan Kolbe, who is covering for me over the holidays. Thanks again, Ryan!)

The holidays are a time for family get-togethers and overindulging on great food. They’re a time of reflection on the previous year, and anticipation of the future. Sometimes, if you’ve been good all year, the holidays are about giving and receiving gifts! Even in these tough economic times, it’s a tradition that many people take part in, and I, for one, am thankful for that.

Something that is different this year is that fewer people will travel to be with loved ones due to the economic crunch and less money floating around for excess travel. MSN.com reported on December 10 that “Airlines will operate about 2,500 to 3,000 fewer domestic flights daily during these holiday periods compared with the corresponding days last year.”

Because of all of this, Uncle Gary will be sending that fully wrapped train set to little Scotty via the United States Postal Service instead of hopping into the RV with the kids and driving East. Aunt Peggy will have to wrap up her famous fruitcake and have FedEx get it to the relatives with two-day shipping rather than flying to Phoenix for some fun in the holiday sun. It costs a lot less; it’s just not as personal.

Because of this, UPS has come up with a new microsite to highlight those “not so great” gifts from the relatives who weren’t able to make the trek home, or even some who were! “To give someone a gift that was previously received from someone else” is how Merriam-Webster defines “regifting.”

UPSregifter.com is a site that allows you to virtually regift a subpar gift to friends or family. As a child, I was always taught to appreciate the gift that I received, even if I didn’t really like it, and that “it’s the thought that counts.”  Thankfully, UPS has come up with this idea to quietly make fun of those horrible, “what were they thinking” gifts.

So why is this meaningful? UPS is acknowledging something in a “tongue in cheek” manner that everyone has come across at one time or another. Inevitably, at some point in your life, you’ll receive a gift that’s totally out of left field, and a huge flop. In acknowledging that in a fun, interactive way, UPS is getting themselves into the mind of the site users. The thought is that if someone does receive a horrible gift this holiday season, he or she can upload a picture of it, write a small description, and regift it to someone. Then, taking it one step further, if the “regifter” actually finds some desperate soul who wants the gift, they can then take it to the UPS store and physically send it to that person. The site never explicitly says that, which allows the users to put two and two together, and turn to UPS for future package-sending needs.

UPS has successfully marketed their services in a nontraditional way to people who may have initially thought of going to FedEx or the United States Postal Services for their holiday gift-sending needs.  Although it’s a simple site with viral aspects for sharing, the interactivity makes the marketing meaningful to those site users-and should successfully build on the awareness of UPS and their services this holiday season.