Hubbub Christmas Polling 2023 The research was conducted by Censuswide with 3000 (Nat Rep) respondents between 08.09.23 – 13.09.23 Q1. Did you take part in a secret Santa last year? Over a third of Brits said they took part in a secret Santa last year with over half of people aged under 35 taking part. • • • •
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36% of people said yes 64% said no More women (40%) took part in secret Santa than men (31%) More younger people took part in secret Santa last year than over 35s o 55% aged 16 – 24 o 55% aged 25 – 34 o 45% aged 35 – 44 o 31% aged 45 – 54 o 18% aged 55+ Almost half of Londoners (49%) and half of people in Northern Ireland (51%) took part in secret Santa last year, while less than a third of people in Scotland (28%) and Wales (29%) did
Q2. Did you participate in secret Santa with your work colleagues last year? (Out of those who did take part) People aged between 35 – 54 were most likely to have participated in secret Santa with their work colleagues last year, while 77% of people overall said they had done so. • • • •
77% said yes 19% said no 75% of men said they had participated in secret Santa with work colleagues last year, while 78% of women said the same People aged 35 – 54 were most likely to have participated in secret Santa with their work colleagues last year: o Aged 16 – 24: 64% o Aged 25 – 34: 80% o Aged 35 – 44: 83% o Aged 45 – 54: 85%
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o Aged 55+: 72% People in the North West (84%), East of England (83%) and Wales (81%) were most likely to have participated in secret Santa with work colleagues last year People in Liverpool (87%) and Edinburgh (84%) were most likely to have participated in secret Santa with work colleagues last year
Q3. How many secret Santa gifts did you purchase last year? People bought more secret Santa gifts for their work colleagues than they did their friends last year. Just over 1 in 5 Brits bought one secret Santa gift for their family or friends last year while over half bought them for work colleagues. •
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Work colleagues: o 59% bought one gift o 14% bought two gifts o 10% bought three gifts o 6% bought 4 gifts o 4% bought 5 gifts o 5% of people bought more than five gifts o Mean no. of gifts: 1.9 Friends: o 23% bought one gift o 13% bought two gifts o 12% bought three gifts o 7% bought four gifts o 3% bought five gifts o 3% bought more than five gifts o Mean no. of gifts: 1.48 Family: o 22% bought one gift o 11% bought two gifts o 11% bought three gifts o 7% bought four gifts o 6% bought five gifts o 6% bought more than five gifts o Mean no. of gifts: 1.71 Other: o 8% bought one gift o 7% bought two gifts o 7% bought three gifts o 4% bought four gifts o 3% bought five gifts
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2% bought more than five gifts Mean no. of gifts: 0.80
Q4. Thinking of last year’s secret Santa, in what category did they gift you gave and receive from work colleagues fall into? Homeware (21%), consumables (16%) and gadgets (10%) top the list of gifts given with books (9%), jewellery (9%) and voucher/token/money (8%) being next most popular.
Gifts given • • •
Homeware (21%), consumables (16%) and gadgets (10%) top the list of gifts given Books (9%), jewellery (9%) and vouchers/tokens/money (8%) were next most popular 7% of people gave their work colleagues a piece of clothing or fashion accessory
Gifts received Consumables (21%), homeware (18%) and vouchers/tokens/money (11%) were the most popular gifts received, followed by a piece of clothing or fashion accessory (9%), books (9%), gadgets (7%) and games (7%). • •
Consumables (21%), homeware (18%) and vouchers/tokens/money (11%) were the most popular gifts received A piece of clothing or fashion accessory (9%), books (9%), gadgets (7%) and games (7%) were next most popular
Q5. Thinking about the secret Santa gift you received from a work colleague last year, which of the following statements apply to you, if any? Two in five people say the secret Santa gift received from a work colleague last year was thoughtful and one third say it was genuinely useful. Meanwhile, 8% say they swiftly got rid of it and nearly 1 in 10 say they would rather have not received it. • • •
41% say it was a thoughtful gift 32% say it was a genuinely useful gift 12% say it was a waste of money
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9% say they would rather not have received it 8% say they swiftly got rid of it 8% say it was pointless 8% say it was second hand 7% say the gift didn’t even make it home after they received it
Q6. You say you got rid of your gift and it didn’t even make it home after you received it. How did you do this? Almost 1 in 5 people say they binned an unwanted secret Santa gift after receiving it, while 31% say they gave it away, 26% say they recycled it and 19% say they donated it to charity. • • • •
31% say they gave it away 26% say they recycled it 19% say they donated it to charity 19% binned it
Q7. What, if any, is the most pointless secret Santa gift you’ve received? Unwanted mugs, socks, chocolate and toilet roll top the list of pointless secret Santa gifts received, with some even admitting to receiving a toilet brush, washing up gloves and a tie for a pet cat. • •
58% say they’ve never received a pointless secret Santa gift Stand out open responses: o 31 people received unwanted mugs o A tie for the receiver’s cat o A toilet brush o 88 said socks o 6 people said toilet roll o Washing up gloves o 28 cases of unwanted chocolate
Q8. What are your views on the secret Santa tradition in the workplace? Are workplace secret Santa traditions a financial and mental burden? While 32% say it’s a bit of fun and they’re happy to participate, 17% of people say it’s an extra cost they could do without this Christmas and that it’s an extra chore on the list on the run up to the festivities. • •
32% agree it’s a bit of fun and are happy to participate 17% say it’s an extra cost they could do without this Christmas
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17% say it’s an extra chore on the list in the run up to Christmas 16% say it’s wasteful and unnecessary 15% say it solves the problem of having to buy more than one gift 14% say they wouldn’t buy any colleagues a gift if it wasn’t for this tradition 7% say they’d prefer to receive something homemade/regifted or an experience
Q9. Have you given a pre-loved/second-hand secret Santa gift before? Younger people (aged under 35) are more like to have given a pre-loved or secondhand secret Santa gift as 79% of Brits overall say they haven’t. • •
21% said they have while 79% say they haven’t Younger people are more like to have given a pre-loved or second-hand secret Santa gift: o Aged 16-24: 38% said yes o Aged 25 – 34: 31% said yes o Aged 35 – 44: 27% said yes o Aged 45 – 54: 15% said yes o Aged 55+: 11% said yes
Q10. Would you be open to giving a pre-loved/second-hand gift this year? Half of Brits would be open to giving a pre-loved or second-hand gift this year, with females (54%) and 16-24 year olds (64%) being the most likely to do so. • • • •
50% said yes (net 20% yes – definitely and 30% yes – probably) 37% said no while 13% said they don’t know Females are more open to gifting a pre-loved or second-hand gift than men with 54% saying yes compared to 44% of men Only 34% of over 55s say they would be open to this while 64% of 16-24 year olds would
Q11. Would you be open to receiving a pre-loved/second-hand gift this year? Almost two thirds of Brits would be open to receive a pre-loved or second-hand gift this year – women are more open (63%) compared to 52% of men. • • •
58% said yes (net 24% yes-definitely and 34% yes-probably) 31% said no while 12% didn’t know Females are more open to receiving this – 63% compared to 52% male
Q12. How likely or unlikely is it that you’ll participate in a work secret Santa this coming Christmas? Thirty one percent of Brits say it’s likely they’ll be participating in a work secret Santa this coming Christmas. • •
31% say it’s likely (net likely and very likely) 30% say it’s unlikely (net unlikely and very unlikely)
Q13. Did you buy any pre-loved/second hand gifts for friends or family for Christmas last year? One in five Brits bought pre-loved or second-hand gifts for friends or family for Christmas last year. • •
20% said they did 69% said they didn’t
Q14. If not, why? Brits feel uncomfortable giving second-hand gifts (27%), think others wouldn’t like to receive them (27%) or that people would think they’re cheap (22%). Seven per cent of people said it hadn’t crossed their mind to do so, while 16% said it’s hard to find a good quality second-hand gift, the exact gift they’re looking for or that it’s quicker/easier to buy new gifts online. • • • • • • • • • • •
I don’t feel comfortable giving second-hand gifts – 27% I don’t think people would like to receive a second-hand gift – 27% It feels cheap/ I don’t want people to think I’m cheap – 22% It’s hard to find good quality second-hand gifts – 16% It’s hard to find exactly what I want to gift – 16% It’s quicker/easier to buy new, online – 16% It’s quicker/easier to buy new, in person – 13% I don’t have enough time to find second-hand gifts – 9% I don’t know where to buy second-hand gifts – 7% I don’t have access to charity shops – 3% Other – 5% - stand out open responses: o 7 people said it didn’t cross their mind
Q15. Where did you source your pre-loved gifts from? Charity shops reign supreme for sourcing pre-loved gifts according to 1 in 5 people. Online pre-loved stores such as Vinted or Depop (14%) and regifting items given by someone else (12%) are also popular choices. More than 10% of people admit to passing on their own stuff as pre-loved gifts. • • • • • • •
20% - charity shop 14% - online pre-loved stores such as Vinted or Depop 12% - they were given it by someone else 11% - sometimes pass on their own stuff 10% - Facebook marketplace 9% - Freecycle or other reuse groups on websites or social media 2% - other, please state: o 4 people said Amazon o 23 people said ebay o Other popular places were car boot sales, bring and buy mornings, Vinted and antique/second-hand shops
Q16. Did you receive any pre-loved gifts from friends or family last year? Eighteen per cent of Brits said they received pre-loved gifts from friends or family last year. • • •
18% said yes 66% said no 16% didn’t know
Q17. How did you feel about receiving a pre-loved gift? More than two thirds of Brits felt happy at receiving a pre-loved gift at Christmas last year while 20% said they felt awkward and 15% were left disappointed. • • • •
Happy – 67% Awkward – 20% Disappointed – 15% No feeling in particular – 8%
Q18. Did you take part in a family secret Santa last year? Are family secret Santa traditions on the rise? Nearly a quarter of Brits took part in a family secret Santa last year.
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Yes – 24% No – 76%
Q19. Thinking about the secret Santa gift you received from a family member last year, which of the following statements apply to you, if any? One in ten admit to swiftly getting rid of a secret Santa gift from a family member last year with 9% of Brits saying the gift was pointless or they’d rather not have received it. Thirty seven per cent said their family secret Santa gift was thoughtful and 34% said it was genuinely useful. • • • • • • • • •
It was a thoughtful gift – 37% It was a genuinely useful gift – 34% It was second hand – 11% It was a waste of money – 11% It didn’t even make it home after I received it – 10% I swiftly got rid of it – 10% It was pointless – 9% I’d rather have not received it – 9% None of the above – 3%
Q20. How likely is it that… • You’ll buy at least one new outfit for the Christmas party season One third of Brits are likely to buy at least one new outfit for the Christmas party season this year. o o
Unlikely* – 39% Likely** – 33%
• You’ll buy a second-hand outfit for the Christmas party season Less than a quarter of Brits are likely to buy a second-hand outfit for the Christmas party season this year. o o
Unlikely – 45% Likely – 23%
• You’ll buy a new Christmas jumper in the run up to Christmas this year Almost a quarter of Brits admit they’re likely to buy a new Christmas jumper in the run up to Christmas this year. o o
Unlikely – 48% Likely – 24%
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You’ll reuse a Christmas jumper you already own in the run up to Christmas this year Nearly half of Brits will reuse a Christmas jumper they already own up in the run up to Christmas this year. o o
Unlikely – 22% Likely – 48%
• You’ll make your own Christmas jumper in the run up to Christmas this year Feeling crafty? Only 13% of Brits say they’ll make their own Christmas jumper this year. o o
Unlikely – 63% Likely – 13%
• You’ll choose a veggie or vegan option for Christmas dinner this year 1 in 5 Brits say they’ll choose a veggie or vegan option for Christmas dinner this year. o o •
Unlikely – 58% Likely – 20%
You’ll eat traditional turkey for Christmas dinner this year
Over half of Brits will stick with traditions and will be eating turkey at Christmas this year. o o •
Unlikely – 24% Likely – 56%
You’ll reduce the amount of Christmas wrapping paper you’ll use this year
Wastage is on the brain, with 44% of Brits saying they’re likely to reduce the amount of Christmas wrapping paper used this year. o o • •
Unlikely – 22% Likely – 44%
Net of very unlikely and somewhat unlikely Net of very likely and somewhat likely
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