Cheap chocolate, mugs, voted ‘worst’ Kris Kringle gifts
Buying a cheap gift for a colleague this Christmas? You might find yourself on the naughty list. A new survey has ranked some of the best and worst office Kris Kringle gifts.
VIC News
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Giving cheap chocolate to a colleague this Christmas might just put you on the naughty list, a new survey had found.
Cheap and cheerful Kris Kringle gifts have been dubbed “unnecessary” and “wasteful” as employees shift to more meaningful presents, the annual World Vision Christmas survey has found.
Half of Australians employees surveyed said they either dislike or have no real opinion on the novelty gift-giving, while 40 per cent admitted they had no idea what happened to their KK gift from the previous year. .
Elwood mum Hannah Lawson, 43, said she was fed up with buying and receiving wasteful gifts and decided to put her money to better use.
Instead, she made a donation to sponsor the reforesting of a farm in Africa and to send a girl to school.
“There is way to much wastefulness at Christmas time,” Ms Lawson said.
“It’s unnecessary – if you can chose something that you don’t have to keep on your desk to keep someone happy … (it makes) the giver and the receiver feel good.”
Ms Lawson, who works for a national recruitment firm, said her work was also on board, donating to charities on behalf of their clients instead of sending gifts.
“It’s actually been for the past few years there’s been a shift … rather than giving pointless gifts they’re donating to charity,” she said.
“I think it’s filtered through and now people are giving ethical gifts for KK.”
Of the gifts, novelty mugs were found to be the worst offender, topping the list of “worst gifts” people had received at work.
And gift cards were voted as the best present to receive.
World Vision spokesman, Angus Smith, said the results of the survey showed attitudes to gift giving in Australia were changing.
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“The world is being buried under mountains of junk, it is polluting our lands and waterways, and unnecessary or overindulgent gift-giving is only adding to that,” Mr Smith said.
“Our research shows that people feel that Christmas has become far to wasteful and commercial and that’s why we are promoting ethical gift giving this Christmas.”
Other research from research group McCrindle found almost half of Australians said they intended to donate money this Christmas and 48 per cent said they would be “genuinely happy” if a donation was made on their behalf.
The 3 best gifts people have received at work:
1. Gift voucher
2. Alcohol (particularly wine and whisky)
3. Christmas bonus
The worst 3 gifts people have received at work:
1. Mugs (particularly novelty mugs)
2. Candles (particularly scented candles)
3. Chocolate (particularly cheap chocolate)