diff --git a/boilerplate/xmalloc.c b/boilerplate/xmalloc.c
index 10d1cef47..8da056809 100644
--- a/boilerplate/xmalloc.c
+++ b/boilerplate/xmalloc.c
@@ -56,3 +56,15 @@ xcalloc (size_t nmemb, size_t size)
 
     return buf;
 }
+
+void *
+xrealloc (void *buf, size_t size)
+{
+    buf = realloc (buf, size);
+    if (!buf) {
+	CAIRO_BOILERPLATE_LOG ("Error: Out of memory. Exiting\n");
+	exit (1);
+    }
+
+    return buf;
+}
diff --git a/boilerplate/xmalloc.h b/boilerplate/xmalloc.h
index bc1ab69eb..1f0fadf6e 100644
--- a/boilerplate/xmalloc.h
+++ b/boilerplate/xmalloc.h
@@ -34,4 +34,7 @@ xmalloc (size_t size);
 void *
 xcalloc (size_t nmemb, size_t size);
 
+void *
+xrealloc (void *buf, size_t size);
+
 #endif