A nationwide survey of 1,698 women for AskHerFriends.com has identified the importance of getting the right gifts this year if their partner wants to fill more than her Christmas stocking. One in 12 who responded to the survey said if they got ‘the perfect gift’ they’d be more inclined to have sex with their partner. Conversely, almost half (49.9%) admitted they expected to be disappointed by the choice of their main present. 42% of women polled said that’d previously ditched a partner over his or her present-picking abilities.
The survey, conducted for AskHerFriends.com by independent firm Censuswide, was conducted across the UK and produced several sex toys as suggestions of unpopular gifts. Anal beads, ‘dodgy vibrators’, and cheap and scratchy lingerie were mentioned by women as some truly terrible gifts, along with a cement mixer and even a beard trimmer! Clearly a message was being given along with that last one!
The rewards for great gifting in Northern Ireland were most likely to be more than a warm glow of the satisfaction of making a loved-one happy: 70% more than the national average said they’d show their appreciation in the bedroom. However, the opposite is true of women in the West Country, where 62% fewer than the national average would be motivated to sex their partner up to say thanks. Interestingly, almost one in five (19%) of women in the 16-24 age group think the ‘perfect gift’ deserves more than a warm hug – and compared to straight women, bisexual women were 47% more likely to translate feelings of gratitude into getting rude.
16.9% of married women said their husbands were rubbish at buying presents. One added she’d been surprised to receive the gift intended for her husband’s mistress. We imagine that led to either a very noisy Boxing Day, or a very quiet one. 5% of married women pretend to like unpopular gifts, but co-habiting women seem to have more care taken of them at Christmas, with 49.2% reporting their live-in partners “always bought great gifts.”
Ben Blomerley set up AskHerFriends.com after making one too many gift-buying blunders. Some years ago he bought his girlfriend a worm farm. Romance is not dead! However, his soon-after ex-girlfriend inspired him to bypass the stress of hunting for the perfect gift.
He admits: “I’m no stranger to buying awful gifts myself and have learnt the importance of buying the perfect gift the hard way. Our survey also found that 43% of women have been asked by their partners what gifts they wanted – although that’s the safe option for guys it isn’t very romantic. One woman who was interviewed for our survey revealed that she received a perfume she was severely allergic to – asking her friends before buying that gift would have been a good idea!”
