Billions are wasted each year on unwanted xmas presents, but you can do something useful with that ugly jumper

Unwanted Christmas gifts have always been part and — excuse the pun — parcel of the festive season, whether it’s an unfeasible number of French hens, or an over-pungent celebrity-endorsed Myrrh bath oil.

We all have our favourite stories of mis-judged pressies: from the husband who bought his wife a gravy separator for Christmas (we are still married), to Auntie Mabel’s attempts to buy fashion items for a 14-year-old.

Nationwide, the value of these duff gifts is now estimated to be some £2.6 billion, according to a recent survey by Triodos Bank.

Among the most unpopular gifts are Christmas jumpers, onesies, celebrity autobiographies, novelty socks and kitchenware. That’s what charity shops say, who often find they have a surplus of such items come January.

Economists in the US have even come up with a ‘deadweight cost of Christmas’ theory which shows how billions are wasted each year because the monetary cost of a gift often exceeds the value placed on it by the recipient.

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Julie Burchill

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Of course, at the time all you can do is smile enthusiastically and insist how much you love it, or write the obligatory thank you letter.