This Christmas hard up Brits are turning to their; pantry, bathroom, book shelf, wine rack, wardrobe and entertainment collection in search of gifts; in a bid to save money. A new cost-saving report by Travelodge has revealed over half of the nation (57%) will be looking to save money this credit crunch Christmas by rummaging through their belongings in search of presents they can create or recycle negating a visit to the shops.
The poll of 3,500 adults revealed that utilising discarded Christmas, birthday, anniversary, wedding and house warming presents will be the number one debt defying gift initiative this Christmas. Households across the country will finally rid themselves of the cheap bottles of plonk, tacky ornaments and garish socks and hankies that have been taking up valuable storage space all year.
Another area ripe for gift recycling proved to be bathrooms and dressing tables for unused toiletries such as perfume, aftershave, body butter, shower gel, face packs, 'soap on a rope'.
The more resourceful Brits admitted to creating bespoke 'leftover hampers' by pulling everything together and dressing in a decorative box or basket. The leftover hamper will contain items such as tinned fare (meat, fish, soup, fruit and puddings), dry provisions (rice, pasta and sauce mixes) and unusual edible delights and spirits that have been brought back from foreign breaks.
Listed below are other popular recycled gifts that Brits will use this Christmas in order to save money:
1.Use old books that still look new
2.Raid the wardrobe for unworn clothing
3.Repackage old CD's, DVD's and video box sets
4.Check out the jewellery box for unwanted trinkets
5.Dig out holiday memorabilia
6.Reuse redundant ornaments and photo frames
Shakila Ahmed from Travelodge said: "Our findings have revealed the credit crunch is certainly making Brits more resourceful. The cost of Christmas will be a burden for millions of households this year and recycling unwanted items is the ideal low-cost solution. Every day millions of people sell unwanted gifts and their impulsive buys on the internet, so why not also use them for presents."
The report also found that hand-made gifts will be another popular cost saving gift initiative this festive season. Thirty one per cent of Brits will be spending time more than money by baking, sewing and knitting the ideal gift.
Fifteen per cent of adults will be turning to the books of domestic goddess Nigella Lawson to guide them to bake scrumptious Christmas presents such as cup cakes, brownies and cookies. Sixteen per cent of respondents said they will be making a personal hand crafted gift such as a knitted scarf, cross stitch tapestry or creating a piece of art. Six per cent of parents will be give the responsibility of making gifts to their children during the holidays as a cost saving project.
Other findings from the costsaving report included:
Two per cent of adults will be offering 'personal service' cheques as presents. Cheques can be cashed for baby sitting services, cleaning the car, diy jobs doing the housework.
Four per cent of adults will be holding 'present swapping' coffee mornings so that they can exchange unwanted old presents amongst their group of friends and reuse them for family and friends.
Eleven per cent of shoppers will be bargain hunting at jumble sales, car boot sales and charity shops for presents.
Twenty four per cent of respondents reported that they will venture into low-cost shops such as 'Poundstretcher' to find bargain gifts.
Listed below are the top five tips for recycling old presents for new this year:
1. Make sure there is no evidence on the packaging or on the item to indicate it's an old present you have passed on
2. Check the expiry date on food, drink and toiletry gifts to ensure that you don't poison your favourite inlaw
3. If the gift you are giving has an old tatty box, invest in a new gift box or bag to give it a new lease of life
4. Make up personalised gift sets by using a selection of recycled presents, it will help you to use up more unwanted items and make the present look more expensive
5. Ensure you don't give the same gift back to the person who gave it to you last year!