Bad taste ...cat food as Secret Santa gift

Yule could be made a fool of

BRITS delight in giving wacky Secret Santa gifts which embarrass and puzzle others.

Weird presents have included a bag of sprouts, a novelty loo roll and a Simon Cowell mask. Santa Paws has even served up a tin of cat food.

Just in time for 2018’s festivities, 2,000 adults have named some of the weird things they’ve received.

Items included a T-shirt sporting the face of their best friend at work, an inflatable turkey and a “grow your own boyfriend” kit. The survey, for store chain Wilko, also identified the top 40 most popular Secret Santa presents. A festive tipple took top spot, with chocs next.

Julie Fever, of Wilko, said: “Secret Santa expresses your creative or humorous side, but also allows you to be thoughtful and sentimental.

“Don’t get gifts that are too cheeky if you want to avoid embarrassment, but humour never goes amiss.”

While more than half would laugh at a risqué gift, one in seven complained their presents were “inappropriate” or “insulting”.

OnePoll also found one in five hated the idea of a present from their boss, or receiving one from them.

Worse still, 25% had to buy for a person they don’t like. And one in seven was so worried they’d get a naff gift this year, they told others what to get them.

Workers in Northern Ireland spend the most on colleagues, at £17.36, people in the North East are the most excited Secret Santa players and those in Wales fret most about choosing the right thing.

If you just can’t decide, Wilko has a Secret Santa vending machine at Paddington Station in London.