Is it really the thought that counts?
No. really, you-shouldn’t-have. We’ve all been there, gripping an object so personally offensive that but for the presence of the giver, it would be dropped as if on fire. The Deloitte Christmas Spending Survey for 2012 indicated that 44% of gifts bought by Irish revellers were probably on sale.
Perhaps that explains the singing trout wall hanging or the crimplene toilet roll skirt handed over with such a flourish. The average spent per household on presents was predicted at €499.60, making us the biggest festive spenders in Europe. According to online classifieds site Gumtree, the main culprits in the deluge of ghastly gifts are mothers. Sorry mum. Well, having acknowledged the effort and thoughtfulness with seamless gratitude, it’s time to subsume the polite tension and recycle the worst of the invaders back to hard cash or feelgood.
