Half a billion pounds wasted on buying unwanted gifts
As Brits hit the high streets to complete their Christmas shopping new research from comparison website Gocompare.com reveals that by Christmas morning nearly half a billion pounds will have been wasted buying unwanted presents.
Last year, 63 per cent of UK adults received one or more gifts they just didn't want. And although they estimated that the giver had spent on average over £11.00 on their present they were only left wanting once the wrapping paper had been ripped away
In total British adults received over £473 million worth of unwanted presents last Christmas and nearly half of us begrudged what we'd spent on a present once we'd seen what we'd been given in return.
63% of UK adults received an unwanted present last Christmas
48% of people have begrudged what they've spent on a present once they've seen what they've been given
Toiletries, cheap perfume and aftershave top the list of unwanted presents
£38 million worth of unwanted gifts go straight in the bin
Mother-in-laws are worst for giving bad gifts
Scotsmen say their wives give them the worst presents
25% keep unwanted presents as emergency gifts for others
According to the poll, Mother-in-laws are the worst for giving bad presents closely followed by your own Mum and then Auntie. Granny comes next but not far behind are employers.
Generally speaking both men and women do pretty well when buying gifts for their partners - except in Scotland. Unfortunately Scotsmen said their wives were the worst for choosing them Christmas presents making Scotland the only part of the UK where wives knocked mother-in-laws off of the top spot for badly chosen presents.
It's no surprise that socks and smellies make the top ten of terrible Christmas gifts but books, CDs and DVDs are up there too.
Other old un-favourites included neck ties, personally knitted items like jumpers and scarves and naff sporting and motoring accessories. 3 per cent of respondents said they'd got back as a present the very same thing they'd given the year before.
So what should you give someone if you really can't think of anything but a bottle of Brute 33 or a Mariah Carey CD? 34 per cent of people said they'd much rather have the money instead of a poorly chosen gift and 27 per cent said they'd prefer a gift card or voucher. 13 per cent wished the person had foregone the surprise and simply asked them what they wanted.
9 per cent of people would much rather the money spent on their bad gift was donated to a charity instead and this jumps to a generous 21 per cent of Scots. Scottish wives take note!
And what happens to all those unwanted Christmas gifts? 37 per cent of people donate them to a charity shop and 13 per cent try to make the money back by selling the item on a website like ebay or through the free ads. 25 per cent of people keep the gifts they don't want in case they need an emergency gift for someone else and a massive £38 million worth of unwanted gifts just go straight in the bin.
John Miles, business development director of Gocompare.com, said: "Most of us have occasionally had to hide our disappointment when opening an unwanted Christmas gift but the thought of nearly half a billion pounds being wasted on these gifts and £38 million worth ending up in landfill each year is criminal. Although there are websites to help you compare the prices of presents there aren't really any which can help you tell a good choice of gift from a bad one. Cash, vouchers or a suitable gift card may be unimaginative but if you're struggling for ideas there's no doubt most people would rather choose their own gift than have a bad one thrust upon them."
For more information, visit gocompare.com.