Almost a third (32%) of Brits who have taken part in a ‘Secret Santa’ gifting tradition have been given something they’ve never used.
In a survey commissioned by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), of more than 2000 UK consumers, just over one in seven (15%) people said they had negative feelings about buying gifts in the annual Secret Santa present tradition describing it as stressful and difficult.
The BHF asked participants for the most memorable they had received in the past with books and vinyl top of the list as well as some more quirky gifts including reindeer poo, nose hair trimmers and a mankini.
This Christmas, in order to stop so many presents being unused the BHF has kicked off a festive Secret Santa present scheme in its 680 shops across the UK to emphasise the incredible value and choice when buying pre-loved items. Present suggestions have been specially tagged with a Secret Santa sticker to make it easier to find unique presents.
From the perfect book for a hard to buy for work colleague to a beautiful scarf for a favourite aunt, each stickered gift has been chosen specially by the charity’s team of staff and volunteers.
Allison Swaine-Hughes, BHF’s retail director, said: “Our survey showed that although many people across the UK will be taking part in a festive Secret Santa either work colleagues, family or friends many find finding a gift stressful and many gifts end up unused.
“This Christmas, we decided to do something about that in our BHF shops and have specially identified those perfect Secret Santa presents to take the stress out of shopping.
“By buying a Secret Santa gift at the BHF everyone wins. You will be getting value for money with an array for quirky and unusual gifts while doing your bit for the planet and funding lifesaving heart research.”
Matt Ralph, a 26-year-old charity shopping aficionado and business analyst from Bristol, says he visits charity shops most frequently when he’s looking for gifts. “I love buying presents from charity shops, particularly when I’m not sure what to get someone. They have such a range of different gift ideas and they’re not full of generic gifts that you find in other high street shops at Christmas.
“The best gift I’ve bought was a first edition hardback book called “Endless Story” made in 1931. Aside from the content being lovely and unique, accounting Naval operations in World War 1, the book was a great and thoughtful gift for my dad who loved it.”
The BHF has also revealed that the week before Christmas is its busiest week for book sales, with sales last year reaching over £150,000 for that week alone.
For anyone who hasn’t considered shopping in charity shops before, Matt suggests going with friends and making a day of it. He said: “We go from one shop to the next. The great thing about shopping with friends is when one of them pulls out something you’d never seen before and explains why it’s such a good find. A great find to one person is different to a great find for another.”
