One out of three people in the Balearics can’t be wrong. It’s poor old dad who they find it most difficult to choose a Christmas gift for. Online shopping concern DaWanda (specialists in “unique products”) has undertaken a study into Christmas-gift purchasing, and the islands’ residents put dad at number one in the difficulty rankings, followed by partners (a quarter of them), mums (only 14%), with young children being the easiest to buy for (a difficulty factor of a mere 7%).
Nine out of ten respondents admit to giving Christmas gifts despite the fact that they would rather not have to. Nevertheless, around 60% do so “from the heart” as they believe it isn’t solely an obligation. Around a third say that they purchase particular gifts because they would feel compromised if they weren’t to: the recipients of these are principally in-laws, though mothers also drift into this category. A small number (nine per cent) confess that buying for in-laws will hopefully make them look upon them as being a good parent.
What the people of the Balearics most value about a Christmas present is that it has been personalised, in that the one who has given the present has taken the time to really think about what might be the most appropriate selection. The actual gift and its detail is considered to be more important than its actual value, and others of those surveyed were in favour of something that had been handmade because of the effort that had been put in.
Also highly valued is the surprise gift - 58% say they prefer not to have any advance knowledge of what is in the Christmas wrapping. Almost a fifth, however, drop hints as to what they would like, while 13% still write letters to the Three Kings with suggestions as to what the gifts should be. A smaller number, only eight per cent, say they ask directly for something because they’ve had bad experiences in the past, while only two per cent would rather not receive any gifts at Christmas time.