Ireland’s €64m in unwanted gifts

A whopping €63,999,946 worth of unwanted gifts made their way to the foot of Irish Christmas trees this year, a survey from eBay.ie has found.

The study, conducted by TNS on behalf of the online marketing site, found that the average Irish person receives one unwanted gift per year, valued at an average of €50.

The survey also revealed that some 30 per cent of Irish people will re-gift their cast offs.

However, some 13 per cent plan to sell on unwanted gifts this year – up from last year’s 4 per cent.

While 35 per cent of the population plan to hold on to their unwanted gifts, a generous 24 per cent of people donate them to charity.

Extended family members are found to be the worst culprits when it comes to giving unwanted gifts, accounting for around 19 per cent. In-laws come in second at 15 per cent while parents, friends and siblings tied at 7 per cent each.

“With nearly €64 million worth of unwanted gifts found under the Christmas tree yesterday and the nation in the state that it is, there’s no better way to make some much needed cash this Christmas,” said eBay’s Ruth Szyszykowski.