Merry Thriftmas: one in four households will re-gift this festive season

One in four Australian households will re-gift presents this Christmas, and roughly the same number will be braving the shops on Christmas Eve.

According to data from the ING DIRECT Household Financial Wellbeing Index, 23% of Australians are likely to re-gift unwanted presents this Christmas.

NSW was the state most in favour of giving second-hand gifts, with 27% of households expressing an intention to do so compared to just 17% of WA households.

If you do plan on re-gifting this Christmas, you will probably get away with it, as over 82% of surveyed respondents said they would lie about liking an unwanted gift.

Women were less likely to tell the truth about poorly chosen presents, with just 11% willing to confront the purchaser. However, men were more likely to tell the purchaser what they really thought, with 24% willing to speak up about a gift and ask if it can be exchanged.

In addition to being thrifty, it appears that Australians are also bracing themselves for a disorganised Christmas.

The survey revealed that 27% of households expect to be finalising (or starting) their holiday shopping on Christmas Eve.

The presents purchased will be put in a wide variety of stockings with immediate family the most common recipients (43% of households), followed by friends (35% of households).

Interestingly, 16% of households will give a present to the family pet, before giving to charity (8%), buying presents for neighbours (7%), or getting something for the postie (2%).

The average family is expected to spend $4,154 in the four weeks leading up to Christmas, with a national expenditure of $32.6 billion expected for the festive season.