Four in ten (42%) Brits would consider swapping Christmas presents for charity donations, with teachers, friends, work colleagues and pets among those most likely to miss out on a gift, new research from Nationwide reveals1.

The research, which also reveals Gen Z are more than twice as likely to switch presents for donations than Baby Boomers, comes as Britain’s biggest building society partners with Action for Children for the Secret Santa campaign (see here for details).

Nationwide’s partnership with Action for Children forms part of its social impact programme, Fairer Futures. Today, one in three children in the UK (4.3 million) live in poverty. Britain’s biggest building society is helping the charity provide practical and emotional support to 100,000 children, young people, and parents facing financial hardship. The charity’s Secret Santa campaign encourages donations which could fund giving a vulnerable child warm winter clothes, a hot meal, or a trip to visit Santa.

The top five groups most likely to get the chop from Christmas present lists across Britain were work colleagues (17%), friends (12%), teachers (11%), pets (also 11%) and aunts and uncles (9%). Not spending money on these groups would represent a saving of £73.19 based on the average spend (see below table).

Christmas Present spend category

Amount (£)

Friends

£24.56

Aunts and uncles

£14.34

Pets

£13.02

Work colleagues

£12.21

Teachers

£9.06

Total

£73.19

The poll of more than 2,000 people uncovers a stark difference between generations, with six in ten (60%) Gen Z respondents saying they would consider cutting Christmas spending for charity. This compares to 53 per cent of Millennials, 37 per cent of Gen X and just 28 per cent of Baby Boomers.

While close to half (47%) of Brits say they expect this Christmas to be their most expensive ever – with an average anticipated spend of £309 – around half (49%) say they think the Christmas message of giving has been lost in recent years.

Christmas spending varies significantly between generations. At the top of Santa’s ‘big spenders’ list are Millennials, who plan to splash out £336 on average. Gen Z will spend a more reserved £244. By comparison, Baby Boomers expect to spend £312.

These high expectations and costs at Christmas time put pressure on many. Gen Z in particular are feeling the squeeze, with over six in 10 (63%) admitting to being pressured to spend beyond their means to meet expectations — followed closely by 60 per cent of Millennials. To keep up with appearances, almost a third of Brits (33%) plan to borrow money to fund their Christmas present budgets with over half of Gen Z being the most likely to take on debt to fund their perfect Christmas (52%), followed by Millennials, while Baby Boomers were more likely to rely on savings rather than borrow.

The top reasons given for not being able cut back on Christmas presents are: needing to please everyone (19%), not wanting to be seen as mean or cheap (both 16%) and wanting to keep up with expectations (14%).

Charlotte Kensett, Director of Social Impact at Nationwide, said: “Christmas is a time for giving – not just to friends and family, but also to charity. We appreciate that everyone is impacted by the high cost of living, but if they can, we encourage anyone who can to support Action for Children’s Secret Santa campaign to give vulnerable children and families hope and support at this time of year. As a mutual, we work for the good of society as well as for the good of our members. Our social impact programme Nationwide Fairer Futures aims to change hundreds of thousands of lives for the better.”