Check out how much Singaporeans are willing to splurge on Christmas gifts

73% are tightening their purses.

According to UOB's research on consumers' Christmas spending intentions, these are the five gift-giving trends observable among Singaporeans this Christmas:

1. Most likely to receive Christmas gifts: Friends

The UOB survey found that 51 per cent of respondents planned to give friends a Christmas present, followed by children (48 per cent), a significant other (45 per cent) and colleagues (43 percent). Only 26 per cent of respondents planned to give their parents a gift.

2. Most expensive Christmas gift goes to: Self

Interestingly, respondents plan to spare no expense on presents for themselves and are likely to spend nearly S$500 on buying themselves the ideal gift. While friends may top the gift giving list, the average budget allocated to buy their presents is S$143.

3. Majority of Christmas budget spent on: Family and loved ones

While friends had a higher showing on the gift priority list, respondents said they would spend the most in total on family members. Respondents plan to spend more than S$400 on a gift for their significant other and they will spend an average of S$188 and $144 respectively on parents and siblings. Respondents plan to spend an average of S$394 to buy gifts for business associates.

4. What recipients want

The top items on women’s wish lists this Christmas are designer bags and clothes (34 per cent), shopping vouchers and gift cards (26 per cent) and cosmetics and perfumes (18 per cent).

However, men are more likely to choose chocolates (62 per cent) and novelty gifts (40 per cent) as gifts for the women in their lives.

The top three items women plan to give men are chocolates (68 per cent), novelty gifts (42 per cent) and cologne (29 per cent). The survey found that 20 per cent of men prefer gadgets such as a smartphone, tablet or camera, another 19 per cent want a wallet or watch and 18 per cent prefer shopping vouchers and gift cards.

5. Keeping to the budget and stretching their dollar further

During this season of giving, 73 per cent of respondents intend to keep within their Christmas spending budget. Eighty-five per cent of respondents said they will keep spending to the same levels as last year.

Only one in ten are looking to increase their gift budget this year and they are generally younger and more affluent. The average amount spent this year on gifts is S$580.

Around one in five (18 per cent) respondents said they would look for promotions and discounts to extend their budget while one in ten would save up during the year to ensure that they have a sufficient money to enjoy the festive season with friends and family.