Have you written your ‘Hintmas’ list yet?

If a new study is anything to go by, it looks like you should be dropping your Christmas wish-list hints, well… right about now! New research by One4all, the Post Office Gift Card, reveals that it’s never too early to drop hints on what you would like for Christmas. In fact, the sooner the better.

According to a survey of 1,025 UK adults, 69% of people start their Christmas shopping after October pay day. One in four people also say the earlier loved ones drop hints, the more likely they are to fulfil them. Essentially, now is the optimum time to let friends and family know what you’d like for unwrap on the big day. After all, no one wants to have to put on that awkward ‘yay-it’s-disgusting-but-I’ll-say-I-love-it’ face.

And there’s no need to be sheepish about it. One in three people prefer friends and family to directly tell them what they’d like. But if this is all a little too brash and un-British for you, how about writing a list? According to the study, 44% of respondents welcomed this, making it the most socially acceptable way to ask for presents.

Aoife Davey, Group Marketing Manager at One4all Gift Cards, commented on the research: “As a nation, we’re very conscious not to appear cheeky or too upfront, but it would appear that in actual fact, that’s what many would prefer, so as to avoid the awkwardness of buying someone an item they don’t like or they already have.

“The survey revealed some interesting findings. Far from preferring the reserved, traditionally British approach, most of us would rather friends and family just told them what they wanted, wrote a wish list or dropped significant hints in the run up to Christmas. I think that’s down to the fact we want to avoid the embarrassment of getting a gift wrong, and the awkwardness that can ensue for both parties.”

So get your orders in, people. 62% of those surveyed said they usually buy the presents that loved ones have hinted they would like, so if you perfect your hinting style just right, you’ll be in for a very happy Christmas.

The One4all Gift Card is available to buy from Post Offices nationwide and online at one4allgiftcard.co.uk, and can be spent in more than 22,000 stores across the UK.

Happy ‘Hintmas’ everybody!