The Top 10 Worst Christmas Gifts to Buy Your Partner

Summary

The article discusses the worst Christmas gifts to buy for a partner, based on a survey by the Olio app, emphasizing the importance of thoughtful gift choices even when shopping last minute.

Abstract

With Christmas approaching, the article highlights the common pitfalls of last-minute gift shopping for partners, as revealed by a survey from the Olio app. It lists the top ten worst gifts, which include items like dead plants, stale chocolates, and toilet paper, noting that 40 percent of these gifts end up being discarded. The article also references a survey by Punchbowl, which found that 60 percent of people struggle to choose the right gifts, often resorting to purchasing practical but uninspired items like shampoo and multivitamins from nearby stores. However, the article suggests that last-minute shopping doesn't have to result in poor gifts, as many people prefer practical and health-related presents that can be used throughout the year.

Opinions

Last-minute Christmas shopping can lead to poor gift choices, such as dead plants and stale chocolates, which are considered among the worst presents.
A significant number of recipients (40 percent) discard the gifts they receive, indicating a lack of thoughtfulness in the gift selection process.
Many people find it challenging to select appropriate Christmas gifts, with 60 percent admitting difficulty and 40 percent considering themselves generally bad at it.
The tendency to procrastinate on gift buying, with 51 percent waiting until the last minute, contributes to the purchase of less desirable gifts from convenience stores like grocery stores, pharmacies, or liquor stores.
Despite the challenges, there is an opportunity for last-minute shopping success by focusing on practical and health-related gifts, which are preferred by a majority of people.

You waited until the last minute, but come on!

It’s December 23 and you haven’t bought a Christmas present for your partner yet. Time to panic! You’re either going to have to perform a Christmas miracle to get just the right thing, or wind up in the dog house when there isn’t anything waiting under the tree. But even though you waited until the last minute, the last thing you want to do is make a horrible gift choice.

These respondents admitted to buying a variety of odd Christmas presents for their loved ones….

And what are some of the worst presents you can buy? In a survey conducted by the Olio app, people were asked what the worst Christmas presents they ever received were, and these were the top ten gifts on their naughty list:

A dead plant (34 percent)

A cheap or stale box of chocolates (29 percent)

Toilet paper (29 percent)

Stinky perfume (26 percent)

The same present the person gave the previous Christmas (25 percent)

A mop and bucket (24 percent)

Clothes that don’t fit (23 percent)

Baked beans (22 percent)

A diet book (21 percent)

A dustpan and brush (21 percent)

Given their answers, it’s not surprising that 40 percent of those surveyed ended up throwing their gifts in the trash the first chance they got. But why do people end up making such misguided attempts at playing Santa Claus?

Your last minute holiday shopping doesn’t have to be a complete disaster.

Another survey, which was conducted by Punchbowl, may have the answer. After asking 2,000 people about their gift-giving routines, 60 percent admitted they have trouble choosing the right Christmas presents and the other 40 percent said they’re just really bad at it in general. And because 51 percent of people wait until the last minute to buy gifts, they don’t have time to shop around. As a result, they end up buying presents from a grocery store (41 percent), pharmacy (33 percent), or liquor store (30 percent).

Given this fact, their gift choices aren’t much better than the ones listed in the Olio study. These respondents admitted to buying a variety of odd Christmas presents for their loved ones, including shampoo, matches, multivitamins, voodoo dolls, toilet paper, ashtrays, and Chia Pets.

The good news is, your last minute holiday shopping doesn’t have to be a complete disaster. In fact, you may still be able to find something your partner really wants and appreciates. A survey of 2,000 people conducted by Spinbrush found that 81 percent prefer to receive a practical gift they can use all year round and 77 percent wanted a gift that is health related. So maybe heading to the drug store today for some last minute shopping isn’t such a bad idea after all.

More from Kiki Wellington:

Sources:

Anderer, J. (2020, December 25). Toilet paper for Christmas? Survey reveals Americans’ worst gifts ever. Study Finds. https://www.studyfinds.org/worst-christmas-gifts/

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