The best and worst of gift giving across Australia In-laws guilty of giving dodgy gifts One in three Aussies are saddled with unwanted Christmas gifts Gen Y are hardest to please, with almost half (46 per cent) saying they receive gifts that don't suit In-laws (19 per cent) are the ... December 24, 2015 In-laws guilty of giving dodgy gifts One in three Aussies are saddled with unwanted Christmas gifts Gen Y are hardest to please, with almost half (46 per cent) saying they receive gifts that don't suit In-laws (19 per cent) are the worst gift-givers, followed by mums (17 per cent) and work colleagues (16 per cent) Research released by ING DIRECT has found that almost one in three Aussies receive unwanted or unsuitable gifts at Christmas (2014), with in-laws claiming the title of the country's worst gift-givers. The study, conducted by Galaxy Research for ING DIRECT, found that one in five said their in-laws gave the most unsuitable gifts, while the best gift givers – those least likely to miss the mark - were close friends, followed by older siblings and grandparents. Gen Y are the toughest to please, with almost half (46 per cent) complaining they receive gifts that don't fit the bill, naming their mums as the leading culprits of dodgy gift giving. Other key findings The culprits most guilty of ill-gifting are in-laws (19 per cent), mums (17 per cent) and work colleagues (16 per cent) Women (24 per cent) are more likely to point the fingers at 'in-laws' as being bad gifters compared to men (14 per cent) 22 per cent of married couples say gifts from their other half tend to not hit the mark, compared to only 12 per cent of those in a de facto relationship Six per cent try to return an unsuitable gift while 16 per cent use the re-gifting strategy, with most (55 per cent) choosing to keep the gift (and the peace!) no matter how unsuitable John Arnott, Executive Director of Customers, ING DIRECT, urged people to remember it's the thought that counts: "It's easy to get carried away, particularly at the last minute, but it's important to think before you buy – not only to make sure gifts aren't wasted, but also to make sure your money isn't wasted.  Keep it simple – it's the thought that counts." -ENDS- Media contact Kristen Costandi PR Manager, ING DIRECT T: +61 2 9018 5160 M: +61 413 317 225 E: kristen.costandi@ingdirect.com.au About the research The fourth quarter 2015 wave of the ING Direct Household Financial Wellbeing Tracker was conducted online by Galaxy Research between Friday 4 December and Wednesday 9 December 2015.  The sample of 1,036 household financial decision-makers aged 18–69 years was distributed throughout Australia and the data was weighted by region and household size to reflect the Australian household population based on the latest ABS population projection of the 2011 census.  About ING DIRECT ING DIRECT changed the way Australians bank 16 years ago by launching the country's first high interest, fee free online savings account. Since then, we've brought this low fee value to home loans, transactional banking and superannuation. With over 1.5 million customers – and $32 billion in savings and $38 billion in mortgages – ING DIRECT has the highest Net Promoter Score (advocacy) of any bank. Australia's most recommended bank according to Nielsen Consumer Media View, Sep '14 –Feb '15 (n=10,220).