Australians spend more than $1 billion a year on Christmas gifts that never get used. The problem is almost never the budget. It is that most gifts have nowhere to live in the recipient's week.
This guide covers what the research says about unwanted gifts in Australia, three tests you can apply to any present before you buy it, and ideas organised by who you are shopping for.
How much do Australians waste on unwanted gifts?
More than $1 billion a year. The Australia Institute surveyed 1,009 Australians in November 2024 and found that Australians waste over a billion dollars buying Christmas gifts that do not get used.
The same research found a gap between how we give and how we receive:
- 77% of Australians like buying gifts for people at Christmas
- 52% would prefer it if people did not buy them gifts
- 47% never think about how the gifts they buy will eventually be thrown away
An earlier survey by the same organisation, covering 1,379 people in 2023, put the figure at $921 million and found that about 6.1 million Australian adults expected to receive presents they would not use or wear.
So the issue is not that people dislike giving. It is that a large share of what gets bought has no second day of life.
Which gifts are most likely to go unused?
Novelty items and candles top the list. A consumer survey reported by Savings.com.au ranked the gifts Australians least want to receive:
|
Gift type |
Share who named it unwanted |
|---|---|
|
Novelty items |
51% |
|
Candles |
40% |
|
Pamper products |
40% |
|
Pyjamas or slippers |
35% |
|
Underwear or socks |
32% |
The pattern is worth noticing. None of these are bad objects. They are the default answers, the things you reach for when you have run out of ideas and the shop is closing. They get bought because they are safe, and they go unused for the same reason: nothing about them is specific to the person receiving them.
The same research put average Australian gift spending at $54.36 per present, across about 5.5 gifts each. So this is not a cheap mistake.
The three tests of a gift that actually gets used
A gift gets used when it passes three tests: it has a place in their day, it could not have been bought by accident, and it asks almost nothing of them. Most unwanted presents fail at least two.
1. Does it have a place in their day?
The strongest predictor of whether a gift survives is whether it attaches to something the person already does. A good coffee grinder works because they already make coffee. A candle fails because nobody has a scheduled candle moment.
Before buying, finish this sentence out loud: "They will use this on a Tuesday, when they are ..." If you cannot finish it, the gift will likely sit in a drawer.
2. Could someone have bought it by accident?
A gift carries a message about how well you know the person. Anything available in a shopping centre impulse aisle carries the message that you were in a hurry.
This is why specificity matters more than price. A $25 book chosen because of a conversation you had in March lands better than a $90 hamper that could have gone to anyone.
3. Does it ask almost nothing of them?
This is the test people miss. Ambitious gifts fail quietly. A year of language lessons, a complicated gadget, an expensive journal with 300 blank pages: each one arrives with homework attached, and the recipient feels mildly guilty about it for two years before quietly moving it on.
Small is not lesser. A gift that takes sixty seconds a day survives a bad week. A gift that takes thirty minutes a day does not survive the first one.
|
Test |
Passes |
Fails |
|---|---|---|
|
Has a place in their day |
Good knife, nice pen, morning ritual object |
Decorative item, novelty gadget |
|
Could not be bought by accident |
Chosen from something they said or do |
Hamper, gift card, generic candle |
|
Asks almost nothing |
Used in under a minute, no setup |
Courses, kits, anything needing a free weekend |
Gift ideas by who you are buying for
The person who has everything
They do not need another object, so buy them a ritual instead. Anything that attaches to a daily habit works: a good tea, a proper razor, a bedside notebook, a deck of prompt cards. The point is not the item, it is that it has a slot in the morning or the evening.
Avoid anything display-only. People who already own a lot have run out of surfaces.
Someone starting something new
A new job, a new business, a move, a separation, a degree. They are in a period where confidence moves around a lot and small anchors help.
Practical and personal beats aspirational here. A desk object they will see every day, a good diary, something that marks the beginning. Avoid anything that implies they need fixing.
Someone who has gone a bit flat
The hardest one to buy for, because the obvious moves are patronising. Nobody wants a self-help book from a relative.
The trick is to give something that does the work quietly, without a lecture attached. Small, daily, no instructions, no implication that you have noticed they are struggling. A thing they pick up, not a thing they have to work through.
The dad who never asks for anything
He will say he does not need anything, and he will mean it. That rules out the categories he would never buy himself, which is most of the gift aisle.
What works: an upgrade on something he already uses daily but has owned a cheap version of for a decade. Or an object with some weight and craft to it, because that generation of gift tends to get kept.
Secret Santa and the office
Budget caps push people straight into the novelty category, which is where 51% of unwanted gifts live. One good thing under $40 beats three joke items. The test still applies: would they use it on a Tuesday?
How much should you spend?
Australians spend about $54 per gift on average, across roughly 5.5 gifts each. That is a reasonable benchmark, but the number matters less than where it goes.
Two rules worth following:
- One considered gift beats three safe ones. The budget split is where most gift waste is created, because spreading $90 across three people usually means three novelty items.
- Spend the money on the thing they will touch, not the packaging around it. Hampers are mostly packaging.
If you are buying for several people, it is usually better to buy the same genuinely good thing for all of them than to find something mediocre and different for each.
Frequently asked questions
What should I buy someone who has everything?
Buy a ritual rather than an object. Something that attaches to a part of their day they already have, like a morning coffee, a commute or a wind-down. People who own a lot of things have run out of space for display items, but they still have mornings.
What are the most unwanted gifts in Australia?
Novelty items (named by 51% of respondents), candles (40%), pamper products (40%), pyjamas or slippers (35%) and underwear or socks (32%), according to consumer research reported by Savings.com.au.
How much do Australians waste on unwanted Christmas gifts?
More than $1 billion a year, based on The Australia Institute's November 2024 survey of 1,009 Australians. A 2023 survey by the same organisation put the figure at $921 million, with around 6.1 million adults expecting gifts they would not use.
What is a good gift for someone who needs motivation?
Something small and daily rather than large and aspirational. Gym memberships, courses and 300-page journals arrive with homework attached and usually get abandoned. A sixty-second daily object survives a bad week, which is the only week that matters.
How much should you spend on a Christmas gift in Australia?
The average is about $54.36 per gift. One well-chosen gift at that price converts better than several cheaper ones, because spreading a budget thinly pushes you toward the novelty category where most gift waste sits.
What should I buy a dad who says he does not want anything?
Upgrade something he already uses every day but owns a cheap version of. He will not buy himself the better one, which is exactly why it works as a gift. Objects with some weight and craft tend to get kept rather than replaced.
When should I buy Christmas gifts in Australia?
Early to mid December for standard domestic post, allowing for Australia Post cut-off dates which are usually announced in November. Buying earlier also reduces the rushed decisions that produce most unwanted gifts.
The short version
Most gifts fail for the same reason: they have nowhere to live in the recipient's week. Before you buy anything, ask whether they will use it on an ordinary Tuesday, whether it could have been bought by accident, and whether it asks anything of them beyond a minute.
If it passes all three, it will still be in use next year. If it fails two, it is already in the drawer.
About The Inner Alchemist
Full disclosure, we make one of these. The Inner Alchemist is a deck of 54 cards, each carrying a single message. You draw one in the morning, read it, and carry it into the day. It takes about sixty seconds.
We designed it against the three tests above. It sits by the bed or on the desk so it has a place in the day. It is a limited first edition, so it is not something anyone buys by accident. And it asks for a minute, which is short enough to survive the mornings you do not feel like it.
Gold gilded edges, casino grade card stock, magnetic box. $39.95 with free shipping in Australia.
Sources
- The Australia Institute, Never used, never worn: the billion-dollar Christmas waste, survey of 1,009 Australians conducted 13 to 15 November 2024
- The Australia Institute, Oh, you shouldn't have: Christmas gift waste expected to top $900 million, survey of 1,379 Australians, 2023
- Savings.com.au, Aussies wasted over $400 million in unwanted Christmas gifts last year
