What to do with the Christmas presents you hate!

And breathe! Christmas shopping is over for another year. Hopefully everyone will like the gifts you got for them. But what do you do if you are given presents that you hate?

In this article we take a look at some of the most unpopular Christmas presents, and what to do with a present that you really don’t want to keep.

 

The most unpopular Christmas presents

A survey last Christmas by gift company Vistaprint named the following five gifts as the most unpopular. The percentages after the gift indicate the number of people who would try to get rid of it:

A plain photo frame	34%
Gift set of body products	33%
Scented candle	32%
Gift set of beauty products	31%
Box of chocolates	29%

You may be someone who actually likes some of the above gifts. If not, then if gifts are given face to face, the giver may kindly say you can change it if you don’t like it, and give you the receipt. But it can be more difficult if you get a Secret Santa gift or a parcel arrives in the post and you don’t know where the gift was purchased.

So here are a few ideas as to how to repurpose unwanted Christmas gifts.

 

Five ways to get rid of a Christmas gift you hate

• Take it back to the store

Most stores have a returns policy which should enable you to get either a replacement item, a refund or a credit note. But bear in mind that they are not actually obliged to take back goods unless they are faulty.

The process will be much easier if you have a receipt; even a gift receipt will do. But if you don’t have one you may end up having to ask the person who gave you the gift to help you sort it out. 

At this point, many of us would probably decide not to bother and try to do something else with the gift instead.

 

• Use it as a gift for someone else

If you can’t get a refund or exchange on the gift, another option to consider is to regift it. Put it in a safe place to use for a birthday or Christmas gift in 2022. It is bound to come in useful for someone, as long as you think they will really appreciate the gift and not also try to get rid of it!

The key thing is to keep a record of anything you are going to regift, so that you don’t end up either giving it back to the person who gave it to you, or to someone else that they see regularly. Ensure that the original giver and the new recipient are in totally separate social groups to avoid an awkward situation.

 

• Sell it

According to consumer group Which? around one in five people admits to having sold one or more unwanted Christmas gifts. There are many ways that you can do this. 

One of the main places to sell unwanted goods is on online sites such as Facebook Marketplace or eBay. In fact if you search for “unwanted Christmas gifts” on eBay you can see many examples of people who have done just that. Our article How to make a success of selling on eBay contains plenty of hints and tips about how to use eBay effectively. 

There are also specialist online sites for particular goods, such as Depop and Vinted for fashion items, or We Buy Books and Music Magpie for books, CDs and DVDs. Some High Street stores may also trade in purchasing items such as mobile phones or other technology.

Also explore other local selling options such as car boot sales, newspaper listings, shop windows and community noticeboards. These can all be good ways to get rid of items and make some quick cash.

 

• Swap it

An alternative to selling an unwanted gift is to swap it with someone else for something that you do want. 

There are various online sites that enable you to swap items with strangers, for example Swopped, Nuw or Depop for clothes, or Gumtree for more general items.

Or you could arrange a post-Christmas swapping evening with a group of friends to reallocate unwanted gifts between you. Just make sure that whoever gave you the unwanted gift(s) is not involved!

 

• Give it to charity

If you don’t particularly want either money or another gift for your item, an obvious thing to do is to donate it to charity. Take it to a charity shop or perhaps give it to a local school, hospital or community organisation for them to either pass on or use as a raffle prize in future. As long as the gift is being put to good use, it has served its purpose.

 

We hope that the above ideas help you to sort out what to do with any unwanted presents you may receive this Christmas, and also give your finances a bit of a post-Christmas boost.

If your finances have taken a battering this festive season, remember that Simple Fast Loans offer short term personal loans from £250 that may help to bridge the gap.

For more lifestyle and financial tips do visit us again soon at Simple Fast Loans.