Unwanted Christmas gifts are worth £900m

Anyone looking for a bit of extra cash to help make ends meet may want to raid the loft, if new figures are anything to go by.

Research by Lovelyjubbly, an online auction site, revealed that Brits are hoarding around £900 million worth of unwanted Christmas gifts, a sizable chunk in the current climate.

"The most important thing that it revealed is how much the UK spends on Christmas gifts. For that period of time we spent £124 billion on gifts," explained Gareth Whipps, commissioner of the Lovelyjubbly survey and auction expert.

However, not all of the spending was justified as many people ended up with presents that they could have done without.

"A lot of us have received gifts that we don't particularly want or particularly desire and that means one in three of us have got Christmas gifts we don't want," he added.

Some seven million people received duplicate gifts, with around three-quarters of those polled claiming to be too polite to say they do not like their present.

Extended family members were voted the worst gift-givers, while partners make the best choices.

With so many people hoarding unwanted gifts, Lovelyjubbly suggested that the total cost of all these presents could be around £900 million.

While this could be considered a waste of money, Brits could earn a bit back by selling them on to those who are interested in them.

Research by Saga before Christmas found that the older generation was footing much of the holiday bill and spent an estimated £900 million on food and drink over the festive period.

This was largely down to playing host to their own families, with two-fifths claiming that this was a family tradition but an eight said they only did it because their children found it too stressful and expensive.

If you're trying to save for the future contact Moneyextra. We offer a range of services that will help you find the best savings rates for you

Moneyextra.com recommends you take independent financial advice before acting on any article

Back

2012-01-16 15:05:33 © Moneyextra.com