A half drunk bottle of wine, a pillow with your ex partner on and a mankini - just some of the weird Secret Santa gifts people in the UK have received.

Some of the quirkiest gifts have been revealed as part of a new survey from Secret Santa generator DrawNames which quizzed 2,000 people across the UK.

The data shows older Brits generally spent 50% more than the Secret Santa budget set, whereas one in 10 Gen Z youngsters admitted they just wrapped up a nick-nack from home - and nearly 1 in 5 (18%) said they bought something from a charity shop.

1 in 4 Brits (25%) also reduced the amount they spent on Secret Santa this year compared to last year, hinting at the fact that the cost crisis is starting to bite.

Plus, interestingly, 1 in 20 bought something to help cope with spiraling energy costs, like a hot water bottle or draught excluder.

Brits' top 10 Secret Santa gifts bought in 2022 were:

1. Chocolates (21%)
2. Alcohol (16%)
3. Candles (15%)
4. Toiletries (13%)
5. Voucher (10%)
6. Perfume (9%)
7. Game or puzzle (9%)
8. A scratch card (8%)
9. Flowers or plants (8%)
10. Clothing (7%)

The younger generation are also most likely to be Secret Santa suck-ups - over a third of Gen Z people (35%) said they spent more on their boss' present than on other work colleagues.

Despite us living in a digital age, a huge three in five (63%) of Brits did Secret Santa the old-fashioned way, by pulling names out of a hat. Just over a quarter (27%) used an app, such as DrawNames.

Arjan Kuiper, co-founder of DrawNames, commented: “It's very interesting to see that the cost crisis has had an impact even on low budget gifting like Secret Santa. But I do feel there could be other reasons behind Gen Z wrapping up something from home or buying from charity shops - they tend to be much more eco-minded than older people, so perhaps they want to recycle gifts as they're conscious about the impact of gifting on the environment.”

To find out more head to https://www.drawnames.co.uk/ 

ENDS

For more information, please contact Verity Clarke at verity@weareaubergine.com 

More about how DrawNames works: Organise your Secret Santa gift exchange in just minutes with our free and easy-to-use online Secret Santa Generator!

• Create a group
  Enter the names of people you want to draw names with and add details like a group name, a budget and the date of the celebration. You can still add or delete participants after you confirm the group.

• Send the invitations
  Once the group has been made you can send the invitations. You can do this via email, text message, WhatsApp or any other messenger.

• Draw names online
  When the invitations have been sent, it's time to draw names. Draw names live out of a virtual hat via the website or send each participant their invitation to draw a name for Secret Santa.

Ready to try it yourself? Start up the Secret Santa Generator and invite your friends, family, classmates or colleagues to draw names online.