The Australia Institute recently found that while people like buying gifts for others, just over half of Australians prefer not to receive them.
This year, more than one in four people expect to receive a present they will never use. The institute estimates more than $1bn in unwanted gifts will end up in landfill.
That’s good news for those hoping to have a frugal Christmas during a cost-of-living crisis. It means there’s no need to feel guilty about finding ways to spread cheer without adding debt.
Here are Guardian Australia’s top tips to have yourself a very thrifty – and more sustainable – Christmas:
Kris Kringle
Kris Kringle, AKA Secret Santa, slashes the number of presents circulating in your family, friendship group or workplace – and the money you spend.
There are myths and mysteries about the origin of Secret Santa. The prevailing story is that, in the 1970s, a young man called Larry Stewart had fallen on hard times, but turned his life around and swore to help others.
He started handing out money and favours to strangers at Christmas.
Now, though, Secret Santa is mainly an in-house affair, where a price cap is set, names are drawn from a hat (or online generator) and each person just buys one gift for another. These can be genuine gifts or, sometimes, jokes – think sex toys, kitsch gear or cheesy Christmas jumpers.
Then there’s Bad Santa (which goes by other names including Dirty Santa, White Elephant and Grab Bag) where everyone brings one present and people take turns to choose a gift – or steal one that’s already been opened.
Whichever way you go, keep a lid on that spending cap. Does it have to be $50? Make it $30 instead.
Roy Morgan data, commissioned by the Australian Retailers Association, found shoppers are expected to spend $11.8bn on presents this year up $1.6bn on 2023.
The average shopper is forecast to spend about $707 – that’s $60 more than last year.
The South Australian Council of Social Service chief executive officer, Ross Womersley, says we are “seduced into the consumer world where the more we spend, or the more presents we give, the more we’re fulfilling the Christmas contract”.
“Remember that Christmas isn’t about the presents we give and get,” he says. “The deeper spirit of Christmas is about finding opportunities to share time, to acknowledge the people that we love and to have an opportunity to have some rest.”
DIY
There are chutney makers and shortbread bakers and people who take moulds of their body parts and turn them into art. The opportunities for DIY are endless at this time of year.
How about one of the citrus ’cello variants? There are plenty of recipes around for limoncello with just high-proof neutral alcohol (or vodka), lemons (or you could use mandarins or makrut limes) and sugar. Slap a sticker on it and you are done.
Alternatively, buy something less boozy in bulk – wine, olive oil or a nice honey – and put it in a pretty package (more on these lower down).
Or you could grow new plants for gifts. Many indoor plants, including succulents, that you’ll find in overpriced garden stores can be propagated and distributed to family and friends. Propagate or perish.
You can also give the gift of … yourself. As a babysitter, a dog sitter, a cook, a cleaner or a lawn mower. Make a nice voucher detailing your promise to make a loved one’s life easier – or spend time with them (or gift them some alone time).
Jeffrey Galak, an expert in the psychology of gift-giving, says research suggests that “cost has little relationship with how well a gift is received”.
A framed picture of a special moment, a scrapbook of photographs or something sentimental can be an automatic “home run”, he says.
Asic commissioner Alan Kirkland says we should all remember it “really is the thought that counts”. He warns people it’s important to stick to budgets and avoid high-interest debt.
Thrift giving
Financial adviser James Rawlings, a partner at DW Private Wealth, says many grandparents go for broke when it comes to spending on grandchildren at Christmas. “It’s no expense spared,” he says.
But others are taking a very different approach.
“They’re going to charity shops with young kids … and saying ‘here’s your $30 budget’. I’d never heard of that before, now it’s an innovation for our clients who don’t have as much money,” Rawlings says.
“Kids are getting used Monopoly sets, other board games, books for literally $1.”
For a “less consumerist Christmas” there are ways to give a secondhand gift without looking like a miser, the financial adviser adds.
These include judicious re-gifting or giving someone a carefully chosen vintage find.
Womersley says it’s also important to think about the capacity of others to reciprocate when it comes to gifts. There can be enormous pressure on lower-income earners at Christmas, he says.
“It is wise and sensible that people try to step back for a second and think about whether the things they’re doing will be easy for other people they’re connected to,” the council of social service chief says.
Womersley notes some people take out loans to buy presents and then struggle with repayments.
“That sometimes leads to, in extreme cases, people being pursued for debt they might have been drawn into,” he says. “All to keep up with the sometimes stupid expectations set by the people around them at Christmas.”
CQUniversity Australia’s financial planning expert Angelique Nadia Sweetman McInnes suggests some simple tricks this Christmas including tracking spending, using cash, bagging bargains and avoiding debt.
That’s a wrap
Rethinking gift wrapping can cut down on waste – and save money.
A lot of Christmas wrapping paper has a plastic coating making it unsuitable for recycling. No wonder Australians produce 30% more waste during the festive season.
But new or vintage tea towels can make the wrapping a two-for-one gift. Find funky second-hand options in op shops or online.
A ribbon or tape can keep the fabric in place with careful handling. Just avoid plastic-coated ribbons and instead choose natural fibres such as jute, raffia or cotton.
Still have sheet music from those piano or bassoon lessons you never finished? It can make stylish wrapping paper and is often available in op shops too. Old maps also work well as wrapping paper.
Washi tape will unseal without damaging the paper so the sheets can be used again.
You could also free up some fridge-door space and use the kids’ paintings and drawings for bright wrapping. Alternatively customise plain brown paper using a craft stamp and ink pad.
Glass jars are inexpensive and easy to find either new or second-hand. They can be used to hold a small present or voucher to be handed over later. To conceal jar contents wrap the jar in paper and fabric and tie with a ribbon.
