A half drunk bottle of wine, a pillow with your ex partner on and a mankini - just some of the weird Secret Santa gifts people in the UK have received.

Some of the quirkiest gifts have been revealed as part of a new survey from Secret Santa generator DrawNames which quizzed 2,000 people across the UK.

The data shows older Brits generally spent 50% more than the Secret Santa budget set, whereas one in 10 Gen Z youngsters admitted they just wrapped up a nick-nack from home - and nearly 1 in 5 (18%) said they bought something from a charity shop.

1 in 4 Brits (25%) also reduced the amount they spent on Secret Santa this year compared to last year, hinting at the fact that the cost crisis is starting to bite.

Plus, interestingly, 1 in 20 bought something to help cope with spiraling energy costs, like a hot water bottle or draught excluder.

Brits’ top 10 Secret Santa gifts bought in 2022 were:

Chocolates (21%)
Alcohol (16%)
Candles (15%)
Toiletries (13%)
Voucher (10%)
Perfume (9%)
Game or puzzle (9%)
A scratch card (8%)
Flowers or plants (8%)
Clothing (7%)

The younger generation are also most likely to be Secret Santa suck-ups - over a third of Gen Z people (35%) said they spent more on their boss’ present than on other work colleagues.

Despite us living in a digital age, a huge three in five (63%) of Brits did Secret Santa the old-fashioned way, by pulling names out of a hat. Just over a quarter (27%) used an app, such as DrawNames.

Arjan Kuiper, co-founder of DrawNames, commented: “It’s very interesting to see that the cost crisis has had an impact even on low budget gifting like Secret Santa. But I do feel there could be other reasons behind Gen Z wrapping up something from home or buying from charity shops - they tend to be much more eco-minded than older people, so perhaps they want to recycle gifts as they’re conscious about the impact of gifting on the environment.”

To find out more head to https://www.drawnames.co.uk/

ENDS

For more information, please contact Verity Clarke at verity@weareaubergine.com