Unwanted Christmas gifts: How many do we receive?

Christmas – a time to spend with family, feast on roast turkey, enjoy the festive atmosphere and of course, receive presents. But as it turns out, you’d better start thinking through the ‘presents’ part of the equation a little more, as more people than you think receive unwanted gifts each year. We look at how many people received unwanted Christmas presents, the most common types and what Brits do with gifts they dislike.

Quick overview

• 33 million UK adults (62%) receive at least one unwanted gift at Christmas.
• The total spend on unwanted Christmas gifts is estimated to be £1.2 billion.
• The average amount spent on unwanted Christmas gifts is £37 per person.
• 78% of generation Z has received at least one unwanted Christmas gift.

How much do Brits spend on unwanted Christmas gifts?

Our survey found that approximately 33 million UK adults (62%) have been given at least one Christmas gift they don’t like, adding up to a total spend of £1.2 billion. As of 2022, the average spend on unwanted gifts per person is £37.

Unwanted Christmas gifts by generation

The younger generations are more likely to receive a gift they dislike, with 78% of generation Z and three-quarters of millennials (75%) admitting they have been given an unwanted Christmas present before.

The likelihood of receiving an unwanted present decreases with age, as 63% of generation X, half of baby boomers (48%), and just 28% of the silent generation have disclosed that they’ve received a Christmas present they dislike.

• Graph
• Table

Unwanted Christmas gifts by region

There isn’t a lot of variation between regions in terms of which Brits are most likely to be given an unwanted Christmas present. Londoners come out on top, with 7 in 10 (70%) admitting to receiving a gift that they didn’t like. They are followed by those in the West Midlands (65%) and those in Scotland (64%).

Meanwhile, residents in the North East are less fussy and more likely to be content with the Christmas gifts they are given as only 54% have received one they don’t like. This is the same in Wales, where 55% have been unhappy with a gift, and the South West, where 56% have received something they didn’t want.

• Unwanted Christmas gifts research: 2017

  What are the most common unwanted Christmas gifts?

  	Top unwanted gifts	Population
  1	Clothing and accessories	25.0%
  2	Cosmetics and fragrances	17.6%
  3	Household items	11.5%
  4	Food and drink	8.1%
  5	Literature	7.5%
  6	Music	6.5%
  7	Technology	5.2%

  Clothing and accessories topped the list of most unwanted gifts (25%), followed by cosmetics and fragrances (18%), household items (11.5%), food and drink (8%), literature (7.5%), music (6.5%), and technology (5%). Turns out that if you’re unsure what to get someone, stick with tech or music! These were least likely to be unwanted.

  Perhaps more surprisingly, however, is the fact that 1 in 10 (9%) of us have admitted to deliberately buying someone a present we knew they wouldn’t like. No wonder there are so many unwanted gifts!

  What do Brits do with their unwanted gifts?

  The largest group of people opted to politely keep the presents they disliked (23%), so perhaps we’re able to excuse those gift-givers who truly thought they’d bought you the perfect gift. Regifting comes in at a close second (22.5%), followed by the caring souls who donated them to charity instead (22%).

  Getting into the entrepreneurial mindset, 11% of those with an unwanted gift sold it, followed by 10% who exchanged it and 6% who threw it away. There’s even around 5% who went the blunt route and gave the unwanted present back!

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  • Table

  What we do with unwanted gifts	Percentage
  Keep them	23.2%
  Regift them	22.5%
  Donate them	21.9%
  Sell them	11.3%
  Exchange them	9.9%
  Throw them away	6.1%
  Give them back	4.7%
  Other	0.4%

  Unwanted gifts: Friends are the worst gift-givers

  Unfortunately, friends take first place for giving the worst gifts. If you have a Secret Santa coming up among your friends, perhaps ask them for a wish list. We found that almost 1 in 3 unwanted gifts come from our friends (31%). Parents are the worst gift-givers after friends (14%), followed by parents-in-law (11%).

  Next up on the chopping block are partners – one in 10 single out their significant other as the worst culprit (10%), followed by their children (7%) and their boss (5%). Other categories include coworkers, ex-partners and extended relatives.

  Methodology

  To find out the most common types of unwanted gifts, what Brits do with their unwanted gifts, and who was most likely to give unwanted gifts, results were used from a survey of 2,031 British adults commissioned by finder.com and conducted by Mortar London in July 2017. We included only regions with 40+ respondents – an accurate sample size – in this analysis. Therefore, region data excludes Northern Ireland.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact

Matt Mckenna
Head of UK communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806